6 Phrases HR Professionals Recommend Avoiding in Work Emails

Email still carries more weight than most people give it credit for. A message that takes thirty seconds to write can sit in a company’s servers for years, resurfacing during a performance review, a legal dispute, or just an awkward moment when someone forwards the wrong thread. HR professionals who deal with the fallout of careless wording have started flagging specific phrases that quietly damage careers, and the list is shorter and more practical than you might expect. None of these phrases are secret workplace taboos. They’re common, almost automatic habits that slip into daily correspondence without much thought. Here’s what HR experts say to cut, and why each one tends to cause more trouble than it’s worth.

1. “Just a heads up, I’m calling in sick tomorrow”

This phrase shows up constantly, often when someone is taking a pre-planned mental health day but doesn’t want to say so directly. A lot of people have called in sick for a pre-planned mental health or personal day at some point in their career, but that doesn’t mean you should talk about it over work emailing. The problem isn’t the day off itself, it’s the paper trail that gets created around it.

Your boss might understand if you explained your need for a day off in person, and unless you’re genuinely sick and have a feeling you won’t be in the next day, you don’t want this message to stick around. A quick verbal heads up or a phone call handles the same situation without leaving anything searchable in an inbox.

2. “As per my last email”

Few phrases carry as much quiet hostility as this one. When you respond to an email and begin with “per my last email,” you’re basically saying to the reader, “Did you bother to read what I wrote?” Even if you’re only trying to remind them that you sent the information they’re looking for, in text, you’re calling them out for not paying attention. It reads as a jab even when that’s not the intent.

Research backs up just how badly this phrase lands. A 2024 workplace survey found that “per my last email” ranked as the most passive-aggressive phrase in workplace email, and passive-aggressive language can affect productivity and trust. A cleaner approach is to simply restate the information again, without the loaded preamble.

3. Commenting on a coworker’s performance or behavior

Venting about a colleague’s work habits in an email, even to a trusted work friend, crosses a line HR professionals watch closely. It’s not your place to discuss a co-worker’s performance unless you’re their boss and are discussing it with HR or your boss, and it’s also rude. Once it’s written down, it stops being a private frustration and becomes evidence.

This habit is more common than most employees realize. One-fifth of surveyed employees admit to complaining about a manager or colleague to a work friend via email over the last 12 months, and around 16.8% of respondents say they forwarded an email chain deliberately to get a colleague in hot water. If something needs to be raised, it belongs in a direct conversation with a manager or HR, not in a casual email thread.

4. Vague, tentative requests

Soft, hedging language might feel polite, but it often just creates confusion. Tentative language has no place in email, according to Amanda B. Gulino, HR expert and founder of A Better Monday. When a request is buried in qualifiers, the reader has to guess what’s actually being asked of them.

The fix is straightforward. Instead of a wishy washy sentence, a direct line works better: something like “Have you had a chance to review the documents I sent over last week? Please review and return them to me by Tuesday at 3 p.m.” Clarity does more for a working relationship than politeness dressed up as vagueness.

5. Emotionally charged or exaggerated language

Words chosen in frustration tend to escalate situations rather than resolve them. HR professionals consistently advise keeping feelings out of the written record. It’s best to keep emotions out of work emails, since email communication should be based on facts, sharing information that is required, but not emotional.

This matters even more when a workplace concern is genuinely serious. Focus on facts instead of emotions or assumptions, mention dates, incidents, or witnesses when relevant, and avoid exaggeration or emotionally charged language. Sticking to specifics protects the sender just as much as it clarifies the message for the recipient.

6. Generic filler openers and passive-aggressive sign-offs

Lines like “Hope this email finds you well” used to feel warm. Now they mostly feel like noise. Inbox reading has turned into quick scanning, and generic greetings get glossed over, so when everyone uses the same opener, it stops feeling thoughtful and starts feeling automatic.

The same goes for closing phrases that carry a hidden edge. Avoid using a negative tone or passive-aggressive language such as “As per my last email,” and “Thanks in advance.” Getting to the point quickly, then closing with a clear next step, tends to land better than either a stiff greeting or a loaded sign-off.

None of these phrases are dramatic on their own. That’s exactly why they’re easy to overlook and why they keep showing up in inboxes everywhere. Paying attention to small wording choices, especially in moments of frustration or haste, is a fairly low effort way to avoid unnecessary friction at work.