What’s harder than writing an email? (And no, I’m not talking about that AI-generated script; I’m referring to a real, human email.) Signing off from that human email, because the recipient can’t hear you or see you through the screen — which might be a good thing — or perhaps not.
In a survey done by Preply, 46% of the respondents claimed to know their coworkers’ mood based on their greetings and sign-offs. I’m sure the actual number is larger though — I mean — we’re always judging people.
“Dear xyz, I hope this email finds you well. Blah, blah, blah.” Then the humble “Looking forward to hearing from you soon.” Finally, “Regards.” Wait a minute. I stared at the blinking cursor on the screen.
For a bit of context, it took me 10 back-and-forth emails as a fresher to realise how passive-aggressive just a plain “Regards” sounds. The chat equivalent of it would be “bye.” “Sincerely” is overused. It feels like writing a formal letter for your third-grade English assignment. I realised that I had to add some adjectives to my regards to make myself sound nicer. “Warm regards”? Too cheerful for my taste. “Best regards”? This should do the job.
Speaking of cheerful, I will never understand the people signing off with “Cheers.” Or maybe I haven’t reached that level of informality to be cheering on people in my inbox (cries in student volunteer with a small, non-existent network). Same goes for the people whose emails end with “Sent from my iPhone.” It feels like reading a student-professor meme on Reddit rather than an actual professional response (and as an Android user, I do not understand the technicalities behind such responses).
I’ve learnt my lesson after putting four thank-yous in response to my first appreciation email, ending with (another) “thank you so much for the opportunity” followed by “Best” and getting ghosted. The recipient could probably smell an inexperienced freshie enthusiastically hitting the send button before my email could even reach their inbox. “Nah, this one sounds too desperate.” My email sign-off’s villain origin story.
Then there’s the “So excited to start working on this!” people. Girl, nobody is excited to attend a 50-slide presentation and meetings back-to-back. It is fun to play along with the same level of enthusiasm though: “Likewise, see you there!”
Occasionally, I retreat to my default robotic version, signing off with “Regards.” No best wishes or warm regards. No sunshine, no rainbows. I don’t even get paid for this. This is where things go downhill. I delete the “Regards” and type my name. No, actually wait, I need to show them I’m busy. Backspace again. Thus I hit send without formally signing off my email, like one would do in a fast reply thread. Better than getting ghosted because of my enthusiasm or getting an even colder reply because of my unconsciously passive-aggressive approach — but who am I to complain? I’m just a student in a third-world country, getting paid in experience, and being judged by my email sign-offs.
“But what if they think my no sign-off email is rude and unprofessional?” The voice in my head was too late this time. It is 2026 and emails still don’t have unsend options. Nonetheless, I’ve finally understood why people despise writing and answering emails.