People irritated by informal e-mails

March 22, 2001

LONDON - Ditching suits and ties may be acceptable as business gets more casual, but informal business e-mails raise hackles, a British survey has revealed.

Some 56 per cent of the 2,000 people polled in January by Microsoft's MSN Internet portal said they were irritated by e-mails that were over-familiar in tone, had spelling and grammar errors or lacked a formal sign-off.

It said most Britons under 25 had never written a formal letter and some ended business e-mails with "love and kisses".

Just under half of those questioned said they wanted advice on etiquette for formal e-mails, which MSN said it would provide in a guide, with "think before you click send" as one main message.

One in 10 people began business emails with no greeting at all, and one in six failed to sign off at the end.

- REUTERS