According to a survey from a company that apparently specialises in confusing press releases and email management, one in three British workers get offended by the content of emails - 'by mistake'.

According to GMX - which sounds like a runner up in Britain's Got Talent - people in offices skim read work emails - no! you don't say - and as a result mis-judge the 'tone' and assume that the person at the other end of the keyboard is "havin' a pop at them!" or something.

The survey found that skim reading a mail can cause upset, and urged users to treat the medium in a much more responsible manner. Eva Heil, managing director at GMX, said, "Whilst keeping on top of a bulging inbox is a common pressure for many workers, the research shows that unnecessary stress and upset caused by misinterpreting emails can be just as problematic. As well as managing our email efficiently, it can pay dividends to learn to interpret our work emails more closely."

Graham Jones, internet psychologist, added, "The problem with email, compared with face to face communication or telephone calls, is that we have no tone of voice or body language to help us interpret the message. Take time to think about a message just received, rather than just bashing out a reply which you later regret once you've had time to interpret what the sender was trying to say".

He then flicked us the Vs, spilled our pint, called us fat, and said something bad about our mothers...

We think.

27 Jul 2009