Email fuels workplace misunderstandings, U.S. study finds

NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES — A recent study by foreign language learning platform Preply has highlighted email as a predominant cause of workplace misunderstanding.
The study revealed that 87% of 1,030 U.S. employees associate workplace miscommunications primarily with email interactions. This rate surpasses other modes like voice messages (67%), phone calls (71%), direct messaging (79%), and text messages (80%).
Despite its inherent issues, email remains the most favored communication tool in the professional realm. This preference holds strong in the evolving landscape of hybrid–remote work models.
To mitigate communication barriers, the study proposes “enhancing business communication skills with professional online tutoring.”
Meanwhile, corporate career coach Rachel Wells highlights the need for thoughtful consideration of the content and timing of emails.
Recommendations include reassessing the need for an email, contemplating possible misinterpretations, evaluating urgency, and ensuring the email’s tone aligns with the sender’s personality.
“Worse, you could end up breaching data privacy and send the email to the wrong person with a similar name by accident, or copy everyone into a conversation that was intended to be private, which of course, cannot be undone.”
Wells added that following these guidelines can “contribute to a healthier work culture, more engagement, and less frequent delays and hiccups affecting project completion.”