Work email etiquette

[qwerty123454]

Do you think it's rude to send an email within your own company that contains no text?

The subject line of the email will be for example "Transfer the Merc A180 to BCA"

My manager deletes any email that gets sent to him if it only has a subject line and no text within the email

He says it's rude

I'm on the fence, I think it depends on how well you know the person that you've sent the email to

seems rude to me.

I would be politer to say please.

Yes, I find that rely rude.

I don't know anyone at my company that would do that. From the board of directors down to administrators.

It takes seconds to wrote someone's name and say 'please can you do xyz, thanks'

No one is too busy for that.

It's completely inappropriate and goes 100% against email etiquette.

The subject heading is to provide a summary of the main body email and to make the email easier to find (via search) for future reference. It is NOT meant or indeed designed to carry an message in its entirety.

It is the equivalent of breezing past someones desk and saying "file this under the Smith-Jones case" or suchlike then walking away. No salutation, no thanks, nothing.

I'd delete them as well!

Unless I'm on the phone with someone and quickly emailing e.g. a document while we talk, I'll always include text.

If it only needs one line, I would. But I also add “eom” to advise that it’s the end of message. It’s not very often I use this however.

Your manager has told you he thinks it's rude. Don't do it. Doesn't matter that you disagree, it's the recipient's view that's important here. And he's your manager.

I do think this is rude of you. There are plenty of times I have thought a manager was being precious or odd about something, but it was never something fundamental so you go with their preferences.

Do you mean an email where the subject header contains all the relevant info and there's no point typing in the body?

I think it's OK among people at a similar level who know each other well, trust each other and work closely together. I've done that a fair bit on particular teams where there's a rapid back and forth on a particular task/issue and a need to crack on with things without time for pleasantries. No one needs a load of "dear so and so" and "with warm regards" among people who communicate dozens of times a day.

I do think it would be rude if, for example, I sent an email like this to a very new junior team member with instructions. Or to my boss out of the blue, or to someone in a different office who I'd never met.

Context is all.

I just don’t understand why you would do that. I’m not one who is unnecessarily formal but it is weird and a little rude.

I'm the same as you - depends what it is and who is sending. Wouldn't care if it was my manager, or my immediate team.
Something like "can you come out of the holiday tracker" or "can you call me" are fine just as a subject line

It is rude af. I'd ignore those emails but I've ever actually gotten one.

Unbelievablely rude

No. That is time efficient. No need to open the email.
That is how email used to be used- before it got all- I hope that you are well and hugs and kind regards

I don't think it's rude, but I wouldn't do it myself.

Please, thank you - the bare minimum

'hope you are well' or similar sentiment s also a nice human thing to add

That’s the only time I’d do it too.

I used to work for someone who would reply to some emails "?" If he didn't understand something within the email. I sure as hell didn't know which bit his "?" referred to. He did this to everyone, not just me.

This.
I'd presume something was wrong with the chat facility.
Not as a routine habit.

I'm all for short, to the point emails. But no text at all, unless you are sending an attachment to someone you are speaking to at the time, is rude.

And even if it wasn't your manager doesn't like it so you should go with what they want

Depends on the person and the subject.

"Can you turn the music down please?" Doesn't need more context.

"Please pay attached invoice" only needs the invoice attached.

Coming from the people in my team, these wouldn't be rude. However, if a customer emailed me something like "Call me" or whatever, that would be rude.

Just send a Teams message

For external people, sure, but it's daft to email "hope you are well?" to a colleague you've had two Teams calls with already that day and talked about their holiday with when you're just asking them what the ETA is on a document....

I'd be more annoyed by pointless pleasantries than I would by brusqueness, if it was someone I knew.

The subject line of the email will be for example "Transfer the Merc A180 to BCA"

YABU, the best place for an A180 is the scrap yard, not British Car Auctions!!

We are encouraged to do subject line only emails with EOM at the end.... So people can read and delete without opening them.

I send just attachments with no text sometimes...but if I have just been speaking to someone within seconds/minutes of sending the email.

Other than that, there is always something in the main body. Not always the "Dear colleague....blah blah.." but something. The closer the collegue, the more recent the chat about it the shorter the text probably so a "Hi, further to our chat in the corridor, please would you give me access to the compliance files" would be probably the shortest

Would never send just something in the subject line.

Just feels hyper rude.