Think back to the last email you got from your boss. On a scale of 1 to 10, how PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE would you say it was? And now, bonus points if it included the MOST common snide phrases.
A company has released a list of “workplace email phrases that are most commonly perceived as passive aggressive.” They are:
1. “Just to be clear” . . . 52% of workers say it usually feels passive-aggressive.
2. “As previously discussed” . . . 40%
3. “Per my last email” . . . 40%
4. “For future reference” . . . 32%
5. “Kindly note” . . . 31%
6. “Any updates on this?” . . . 30%
7. “Not sure if you saw this” . . . 30%
8. “Going forward” . . . 24%
9. “Just checking in” . . . 22%
10. “Friendly reminder” . . . 21%.
There’s also a list of the “most stressful workplace email phrases”:
1. “Need this ASAP” . . . 56% of workers say this jolts their stress or anxiety.
2. “Can we chat?” . . . 40%
3. “Action required” . . . 34%
4. “Let’s take this offline” . . . 27%
5. “Per my last email” . . . 24%
6. “Following up again” . . . 24%
7. “Not sure if you saw this” . . . 13%
8. “Please advise” . . . 10%
9. “Friendly reminder” . . . 10%
10. “Circling back” . . . 6%
After looking through my folder of emails from my boss, almost all of them had something similar to this list. Ya...I know. I guess I better get it together!!! YIKES!!!
