My old boss told me my emails were 'too nice' and it fixed everything

I used to write these long friendly emails trying to make sure nobody felt rushed or put on the spot. Then my boss pulled me aside after I sent a 3 paragraph reply to a simple question and said 'you're wasting everyone's time being polite.' That stung but she was right. I cut my email length by half, stopped saying 'if you have a moment' and just asked for what I needed. Has anyone else had to train themselves to be more direct at work?

3 comments

3 Comments

murphy.mason1mo ago

My old boss called me out for this too, but in a different way. I used to sign every email with "Best regards" and then a whole line about "looking forward to your reply at your earliest convenience." He told me to just put "Thanks" and move on. Took me like 3 months to break the habit. One time I accidentally sent a 5 sentence reply to a coworker asking if I had a document and she replied back "yes or no?" That was humbling. Now I just write the answer first, then a short sentence if I need something else. Feels rude sometimes but nobody has complained.

hill.margaret1mo ago

That 'if you have a moment' bit really hit home. I had a boss who told me I was apologizing for asking people to do their jobs, and he was right.

-1

william_garcia1mo ago

Hesitate to push back a little, @hill.margaret, but I think the boss might have been half right. There's a difference between apologizing and just being polite, and a little cushioning can actually make teams work better.