How Rude Emails Harm Workplace Wellbeing and Productivity

Experiencing a rude email at work is a common occurrence with significant consequences for employees and organizations.

A terse demand from a colleague to redo a task over a technicality prompted one journalist to quit immediately, reflecting how email incivility can trigger drastic career decisions.

Research indicates that a third of employees receive at least one rude email daily, a figure that has likely increased since 2015, underscoring the pervasiveness of the issue.

“All forms of incivility create emotional wear and tear,” said Sandra Robinson, a professor of organisational behaviour and human resources at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, noting that email incivility is no exception.

A recent study of more than 1,000 employees found that rude emails trigger work rumination, leading to difficulty disengaging from work and higher rates of anxiety and depression.

“And unlike a rude verbal comment, a rude email can be reread repeatedly, which compounds the psychological harm well beyond the initial moment,” said Zhenyu Yuan, an assistant professor of managerial studies at the University of Illinois Chicago.

There is also a physical toll, as research links email incivility to headaches, stomach aches, fatigue and increased heart rate reactivity, according to Gary Giumetti, a professor of psychology at Quinnipiac University.

Passive email rudeness, such as being ignored or left without a reply, is linked to insomnia because the uncertainty of intent keeps people checking their inboxes excessively.

Giumetti’s research found that hostile emails predict more absenteeism and higher intentions to quit, and lab experiments showed recipients performed worse on math tasks, reported lower energy, and were less likely to help others.

“Giumetti’s latest work also links email incivility to eroded trust between workers and team leaders and, further down the line, to outright deviant behaviour at work, such as theft.”

“The effects of email incivility at work can also spill over into home life,” said Verena Haun, a professor of work and organisational psychology at the University of Würzburg, citing a study where a partner’s rude emails affected the other partner’s work engagement.

High-pressure industries, excessive workloads, internal competition and poor supervision make rude emails more likely, said Giumetti, citing a 2009 study where 91% of banking employees in Singapore reported supervisor incivility over email.

Personal factors such as high neuroticism, low agreeableness, alcohol use and fatigue increase the likelihood of both sending and perceiving emails as rude, Giumetti added.

“Email creates psychological distance,” said Haun, making it easy to forget the recipient is a person with feelings, similar to driver rudeness on the road compared to face-to-face interactions.

Not every rude email is intended that way, as emails lack facial expressions, body language and tone of voice. “A message accidentally written in all caps may come across as shouting,” said Yuan, noting that one-word replies, missing greetings, or ignoring time-sensitive requests can also seem rude.

“I can think of situations where I read an email and immediately heard a rude tone in my head,” admitted Haun. “But when I took a step back and reread it later, it came across as much more neutral.”

Remote work, now about 25% of employees, amplifies the problem by reducing face-to-face contact and increasing social isolation, making ambiguous messages more likely to be interpreted as unfriendly.

“Men can get away with one-liner directives without it coming across as rude, whereas women often have to preface requests with more niceties,” said Robinson, citing a personal experience where an assertive email she sent was criticized while a male colleague’s similar tone was not.

Experts advise switching to live communication—a quick phone call or face-to-face conversation—when a rude email arrives, as it is more effective for resolving misunderstandings and preventing escalation.

If a written reply is necessary, Haun recommends pausing and responding in a neutral, professional way, such as “just to check I’ve understood correctly,” to de-escalate conflict.

“Robinson suggests interpreting ambiguous emails in the most generous way possible: assume the sender was busy, rushed or oblivious to their tone.”

Prevention includes fostering a positive psychological climate, clear netiquette guidelines, and limits on after-hours email expectations, such as France’s policies, Giumetti said.

“Managers, says Haun, should model the communication they want to see, because if a leader fires off curt one-liners, their team will too.”

One final thing to avoid is the phrase “per my last email,” which Yuan says has become a coded expression of hostility; instead, shut the laptop and go for a walk.

Clarissa Brincat is a freelance health and science journalist.