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Are Aggressive, Confrontational E-mails to Managers Ever Effective

9/23/2015

 
harsh e-mail to employer manager
While regularly reviewing documents and e-mails as part of case files, I run into mind boggling e-mails from employees to their supervisors. Here are a few examples:
 
(1) In reaction to a paycheck that didn't include reimbursement for expenses, the employee rights: "I will not tolerate being screwed out of my expenses, and I demand to be reimbursed by the end of the business day tomorrow." 

(2) After being accused by a co-worker of harassment and before the investigation into the allegations was even over, the accused sends an e-mail to his boss: "I can't believe you all ganged up on me. I am not surprised by this back stabbing and I can't way to sue the hell out of you."   

(3) After being denied raise, an employee sends the following memo to her manager: "This company's ungrateful ways are very disappointing to me, and I am seriously contemplating taking legal action, as I am the only African American who has been denied raise to the best of my knowledge." 

I am not sure what made the writers of the above think that they could possibly benefit from this type of aggressive communication. I doubt that any employee has ever gained anything from any kind of harsh or threatening communication with their employer. If nothing else, it is counterproductive to trying to resolve any type of dispute - however small or large it might be. And surely no employer has ever promoted or extended any kind of gesture to an employee because that employee criticized them, accused them of some type of impropriety, threatened them, but many otherwise good employees were fired for this type of language.   

Before you send your next passionate e-mail to your manager about all the work issues and frustrations you are dealing with, read your message and ask yourself - will the reader want to help you after reading your message or will he get angry at you and will want to retaliate against you by looking for a reason to punish you or even fired you? Does your e-mail complaint accusations that you don't really know for sure are true? Is there anything else in the e-mail overly presumptive or insulting that might be worth removing? 

Making sure that you use proper language and tone in your e-mails to your management doesn't mean that you should sit quietly and tolerate harassment, discrimination, retaliation or any other type of bad treatment. However, this does mean that your communication style should be civil and diplomatic at all times, even when you are complaining of these very issues. 


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Law Office of Arkady Itkin - San Francisco & Sacramento Injury and Employment Lawyer
We represent employees and employers in employment and wrongful termination cases, as well as victims of serious injuries in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose, Palo Alto, San Mateo and throughout Northern California. We all represent businesses and start-ups in a wide range of business and employment issues and disputes. 


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  • Home
  • Employment Law
    • Wrongful Termination >
      • At-Will Employment
      • Termination After Unfair Warnings and Write-Ups
      • Union Grievance, Workers Comp and Wrongful Termination
      • Labor Code 970 Claims
      • Promissory Estoppel and Employment Contracts
      • Implied Contract Claims
    • Discrimination >
      • Proving Discrimination
      • Age Discrimination
      • Disability Discrimination >
        • Protected Disabilities
        • Medical Leave / Disability Accommodations
        • Job Reassignment As A Disability Accommodation
        • SSI Disability Benefits and Your Court Case
        • Sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation
      • Pregnancy Discrimination
      • Race Discrimination
      • Sample Discrimination Complaint
      • DFEH and EEOC Investigations
    • Retaliation >
      • How to Prove Retaliation
      • Dealing with Retaliation While Still Employed
      • Retaliation for Complaining
      • Whistleblower Retaliation
    • Harassment
    • Defamation at Workplace
    • Prof. License Defense
    • Leaves of Absence >
      • Medical Leave as Reasonable Accommodation
      • FMLA Entitlement and Reinstatement to Work
      • CFRA Leave
      • Employers' FMLA Notice Obligations
      • Paternity Leave (FMLA)
      • Sample FMLA Leave Request
    • Wages / Overtime Claims >
      • Wage Claims
      • Employee or Contractor
      • Exempt / Non-Exempt >
        • Admistrative Exemption
        • IT Support Specialists Compensation
        • Computer Professional Exemption from Overtime
        • Recruiters / Account Executives Exemption
        • Complaining About Being Misclassified
      • Vacation Pay / PTO
      • On-Call Time Compensation
      • Deductions fr. Commissions
    • Unempl. Benefits Appeals >
      • Tips for EDD Phone Interview
      • Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing Representation
      • CUIAB Hearing Tips
    • Employment Law Blog
    • For Employers
  • Personal Injury
    • Five Tips For Injury Cases
    • Slip-and-Fall Injuries
    • Assault and Battery
    • Recorded Statements
    • Repairing Your Vehicle
    • Unpaid Medical Bills
    • Injury Law Blog
    • Medical Malpractice
    • Police Excessive Force
  • Practice Areas
  • About
  • Results
  • Submit Case
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Consultations
    • Workplace Rights Checklist
    • Deposition Tips
    • Mediation Tips
    • Effective Mediator
    • Suing Current Employer
    • Severance Agreements
    • Workplace Investigation
    • Arbitration
    • Statutes of Limitations
    • Healthy Litigation Mindset
    • Trial Tips
    • Working Remotely
    • How To Find The Right Lawyer For Your Case