Advanced email etiquette means sending emails during work hours

When is the best time to send a work-related email?

It may sound overly simplistic but the answer is during work hours, according to a Sept. 26 article by Jessica Stillman on Inc.com.

In this age of constant connectivity, emailing after business hours is a common practice. However, smart emailers who want to avoid misunderstandings or frustration among their employees, colleagues and clients should pause before they hit send, she says.

“In many industries and offices, the unwritten code of communication is that email must be answered as soon as possible,” Stillman writes. “Sending one creates an immediate demand on the recipient (even if that’s just the mental energy it takes to decide to flout convention and ignore an inbox ping). That’s particularly true if you’re a boss emailing a subordinate or emailing someone after hours.”

If the email isn’t urgent, consider writing a draft and then sending it when the office doors open the next day.

Other email tips:

• Consider that sometimes email isn’t the best communication tool for what you want to accomplish.
• Write with your audience in mind. If your audience is someone higher up on the food chain, write more formally. If it’s a colleague, you can be more informal.
• Balance productivity with politics. Sometimes it’s kinder to keep people off emails to spare their inboxes. But be aware that some might mistake that for exclusion.