To hate it when people CC managers into emails for no reason?

[CCMeNot]

I find it so passive-aggressive when someone copies a manager into an email thread when it’s completely unnecessary. If we’re having a straightforward discussion or resolving a minor issue, why escalate it by looping in management?

It feels like a power play - a way of signalling something without saying it outright or trying to cover themselves unnecessarily. To me, it undermines trust and open communication.

AIBU to think this kind of behaviour is petty and unprofessional or is it just standard office politics I need to get over?

I cc my boss into most things because I work PT and it means she can pick things up in my absence. It not necessarily about you.

I get 50-100 emails a day as I get copied in to EVERYTHING that is even marginally related to my dept. Most people get maybe 15 emails at a push.

I physically cannot read them all and they do get deleted. If its something that actually needs me, well then call me and speak to me.

I have one staff member who copies me in on every damn email he sends, drives me mad and I've asked him to stop. He admitted he does it because he feels he needs to protect himself because of experience at a previous job. Okay, I sympathise, but you're not in that job anymore. He's on extended leave at the moment and its quietened my inbox significantly. I have raised it with him constantly but he just won't stop. So I delete it the instant the pop up appears these days, unless its something already on my radar.

It can go either way.

The person doing it might be a bit shit.

The person having it done to them might be a bit shit.

The manager in question should have a word with whoever of the two is the one who’s a bit shit.

I've joined a Co where my manager likes to be copied in all the time. So, same but in reverse.

When someone in my team does this it's usually to point out what someone else has done wrong or forgotten to me, it just makes the sender look like a twat really. I like it if I can point out something they've done wrong or forgotten in my reply....doesn't seem to deter them though!

It depends on the context of the individual email, but the vast majority of the time YANBU. Sometimes a more senior manager needs to see the correspondence, but often it's a way of trying to strong arm you into a response, intimidate you or otherwise make a point.

As a manager myself, I can't stand being copied into emails I don't absolutely have to see. I have had to speak to one of my team about doing this unnecessarily - it's confusing, it wastes time, and it ends up with me just instinctively dismissing emails from that team member (and don't get me starts on the ethics of Bcc-ing...).

I've got a serial CC-er in my team and it's very annoying - he does it because he was micromanaged in a previous job and he can't shake off the habit. But I was also CCed twice today for very good reasons, but if you were the recipient it might have looked unnecessary, whining to the manager or an underhanded complaint. It was none of these things.

Usually only see it where I am if someone doesn't deal with what they're meant to. They ask, it's ignored, they cc a manager.

A few years ago I responded to someone who did this to me, calling them out on it and asking why they felt the need to be passive aggressive. They’ve been really nice to me ever since! 😛

I’ve only ever done it when the person who was supposed to be resolving an issue was still ignoring all my enails three months later. I think three months was a reasonable timeframe to respond. And instantly they suddenly started responding when they realised management knew they hadn’t been doing their job. So occasionally I think there is a time to cc management in to email chains especially after months of being ignored. But just for the sake of it when it’s not even necessary does seem unnecessary.

Not quite the same thing, but in a previous job one of our customers was a department in the NHS. I noticed that whenever any questions or situation, however minor, came to the attention of the senior manager she would immediately CC anyone she could think of on to the email discussion. I always got the impression that this was a way of ducking responsibility for making a decision herself.

It was deeply frustrating because when you get the subject opened up to 24 people instead of, say 3, you just don't get anywhere because nobody takes ownership of the problem.

This.
I copied my manager into an email today. I was responding assertively to the passive aggressive dick who's been trying to undermine me. My manager had already observed and commented on this so today I was merely providing further concrete evidence of their dickishness. I presume they are now sulking and thinking up new ways to try and get back at me. Unfortunately for them I'm quite good at my job and my manager is now going to have a word about their behaviour..

I often cc in my manager or other team members if I know I’m going to be away or otherwise engaged further down a conversation to make sure they’ve got sight into the chat and background. Not always a power play at all, or we cc in insurance etc so people have a chance to jump in before things go too far down a path. But it’s very normal in our organisation - I wouldn’t assume my contractor cc’ing their line manager as a power play, just an FYI so duplicated conversations don’t happen and there is clarity and consistency.

I don't like it myself and if I'm cc'd in on an email that I don't need to be in on then i give it very very little attention. On a similar note, meeting invites that are forwarded to the world and his dog.

Don't really have much choice when there's something that requires the involvement of at least four other people and two others need to know what's going on as well.

Bccs are useful, though. They're great for going external without disclosing a direct email address, ensure multiple people being sent stuff don't see others' email details and are very useful heads up when something is likely to be dropped from a great height but there isn't an opportunity to speak beforehand.

Dead normal where I work, we all do it to keep colleagues, managers etc up to date on the decisions we are making or what we are asking others to do/decide. Anyone cc'd is basically being told "this is what we are up to, we got this but you might be interested or know something we should be aware of so jump in if you need to".

I'm so used to it that the odd time I mail just one person I feel like I'm being sneaky! I pretty much only do that now if I want to ask/warn/prepare a person about something before bringing in a wider group.

There's always a reason.

I do it with anything it would be handy for my manager to be up to date with if I were unexpectedly off. I work as the sole manager of 20 people in a satellite area. Noone else has any idea what's going on, so its in her interests to be aware of anything important, unusual or that has potential to blow up. She is aware that I expect no reply unless I ask her a direct question and that its for information only.

I do it with anything it would be handy for my manager to be up to date with if I were unexpectedly off. I work as the sole manager of 20 people in a satellite area. Noone else has any idea what's going on, so its in her interests to be aware of anything important, unusual or that has potential to blow up. She is aware that I expect no reply unless I ask her a direct question and that its for information only.

It is.
I have no issues asking them why? Reminding them how busy management is, while giving them the reassurance, they are welcome to escalate anything that they feel wasn't dealt with satisfactory, otherwise sending unnecessary traffic causes important information will get lost in the pile. Cc management.
Obviously there are times when it is important, but you can tell when it's a passive aggressive push.
🖕🤫

But if you never answer your email, how am I meant to resolve it? As pp have said, I cc when people have repeatedly failed to get back to me. Not because I'm manipulative. Not because I'm power-hungry. Because I have a task to complete, you are preventing me from doing it, and you are going to be the one to moan when things go wrong (I organise a lot if meetings & events).

I will cc my manager when I’ve had no luck the first or second time I’ve asked for something. I wouldn’t be bothered by that tbh. It’s worse when I have to cc the other person’s manager tbh.

As a manager I hate it. Copy me in if there’s a good reason sure, but please don’t fill my inbox with stuff I don’t need. it makes my job harder.

Sometimes it is necessary and justified, sometimes it is not. Knowing the difference is a skill. But it should only really be a last resort or where the manager needs to know because of some sort of risk if they don’t.

OP is talking about times when it doesn’t seem justified and all it does is annoy people. I wouldn’t expect my own team to be doing it without talking to each other or directly to me about an issue. Occasionally I will tell them to copy me in to something external if, like examples given, there has been a lack of response and adding a manager might prompt one.

We used to be told to cc managers sometimes, at morning meetings they’d finish with ‘cc me on that’ - some managers want to have access to everything