Dear Tech News Thursday subscribers,

It was recently brought to light that the traditional ways in which one writes a professional email or letter are on the brink of becoming a thing of the past.

A study carried out by ITV on 2,000 individuals has shown that the formality of “Dear” and “Yours Sincerely” is said to be becoming less commonly used with the rise of Generation Z entering the work force and in fact favouring the use of “Hi Ya” and “Ta” throughout their emails and/or letters.

It is understood that organisations are changing the ways in which they operate careers to reach graduates; however, does this mean they also ought to change the formal way in which someone writes an email or letter in a formal setting?

Now, what does this study mean for the future of professionalism as we know it today?

Take a read of an article by the Telegraph discussing this matter:

We mustn’t let ‘Yours sincerely’ die out – the decay of formality corrodes human connection (msn.com)

One can also counter-argue and express the importance of formal writing in a professional setting; however, one could argue that given the way in which the English language is being used by the younger generations, we may have to adapt the ways in which we communicate with one another.

An example of this is possibly the way in which language is used now compared to 1597 (the year in which Romeo and Juliet was performed for the first time – First Performance – Romeo and Juliet (wordpress.com)).

Everything considered, do you think it is still vital to teach on-boarders and new employees how to write a professional email, or do you think it is time to put the formality of writing an email aside due to changing times and the use of the English language?

What are your thoughts?