Office employees in the UK could do well to take a crash course in online etiquette or 'netiquette', as it has been dubbed, following reports that a number of bad habits are impacting upon working relationships and professionalism.
Research carried out by Crone Corkhill shows that more than half of all secretaries and PAs agree that email has made communication between businesses less formal and less professional, resulting in a lowering of standards.
Meanwhile, more than a third (34 per cent) of respondents state that the nature of email has contributed to a decline of standards in spelling and punctuation.
Tracy Durrant of Crone Corkhill explains how employees need to be aware of the boundaries when using email in order to avoid being friendly at the expense of professionalism.
"There is a fine line between being friendly and polite and being too informal," she said according to Online Recruitment.
"Usually, the individual can judge the situation well enough to know how to communicate effectively but being too informal can give a less than professional image."
Research carried out by ICM Research recently found that half of all adults aged 25 to 34 are "addicted" to email.
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