New Zealand accountant Vicki Walker has learned the importance of e-mail etiquette after losing her job at ProCare Health—which she held for two years—because she sent too many e-mails that were written in all caps, with a red and bold font. According to her former employer, her e-mails were "confrontational" and “caused disharmony” in the workplace.
One of the offending e-mails that led to Walker’s dismissal from ProCare Health instructed readers “TO ENSURE YOUR STAFF CLAIM IS PROCESSED AND PAID, PLEASE DO FOLLOW THE BELOW CHECKLIST.”
In the grand scheme of e-mail etiquette breaches, this is a pretty mild case. (Remember the “Don’t call me Liz!” incident from a couple of months back? That one was more like bad etiquette gone wild.) But, generally speaking, it is never good form to send e-mails in all caps and this case is a good reminder of how people can find the delivery threatening, even if the message itself is innocuous.
The New Zealand Herald reports that Walker successfully sued her former employer and received thousands of dollars in lost wages.
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