Online Etiquette

It may have started out as a great way to stay in touch with old acquaintances and maybe make some new ones, but recent research shows that the more friends you have on Facebook, the more stressed out you may be. According to this article, a study by the University of Edinburgh Business School in Scotland suggests that having different types of people in your social network may increase anxiety because the potential to offend someone is greater.

Whether or not you are excited that today is Cyber Monday may depend on your position in the company. While many employees are eager to get a jump on holiday shopping and take advantage of the deals offered on this day, employers often dread the distraction and fear a loss of productivity.

Gone are the days when all an employer knew about you before an interview came from the material you sent or perhaps a mutual acquaintance. Social media has put a wealth of information at everyone’s fingertips, and a smart candidate knows ahead of time what an online search will reveal.

Sure, the senders may mean well, but an inbox filled with good-luck chain letters, pictures of cute puppies, jokes, or inspirational quotes can make it difficult to find the messages that deal with important matters. Is there a polite way to tell co-workers to please stop sending them?

“Reply all,” “copy,” and “forward” are wonderful features -- when used sparingly. “We’re always doubling and tripling the number of emails we send to people without really thinking how they are piling up in their inboxes,” says Laura Stack, president of the time-management consulting firm The Productivity Pro in Denver, Colo. “We forward messages to people or suddenly add them into an email thread that has been going back and forth between other people and now they have to read the entire thread.”

We’re willing to bet you send a lot of emails. In fact, that’s probably your primary method of communication with many of the people on your contact list. And you may make an effort to compose your emails carefully—only to end on a low note without even realizing it.

Your email signature is important. Not only is it the last impression the recipient has of you, but it’s valuable real estate where you can share important details. Here are some quick tips to en effective email signature:

• Quick Tips for Handling a Stressful Work Day [Huffington Post]
• Eight Things You Should Never Do at Work [MainStreet.com]
• How to Tell the Boss You Won’t Travel [Jobacle]
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We all know the power of social media to enhance or destroy our lives. With a few quick words we can make ourselves look like savvy and clever office professionals or impulsive and impetuous idiots. However, when it comes to one’s presence online, women are much more guarded than men.