Is it disrespectful not to reply to an email?

Question

Is it a form of disrespect not to reply to a friends email?

Is it a form of disrespect not to reply to a business email?

Answer 1

Hm, that's an interesting question.

Regarding friends emails, it depends if the emailer 'asks' certain questions... It may not be disrespectful not to reply, but rather, show a lack of interest if you don't reply.....

As for work emails, these usually require a response and if I don't think it's urgent sometimes I just mark them 'unread', so if the respondent comes back to me later I can say 'ow yes, here it is, sorry I did not get to it yet'....

My answer probably did not help you in the least! My apologies, I will get right on to it.

:-)

Answer 2

is it disrespectful not to answer the door when your friends know you are there?

Answer 3

If it's a business email asking for information, assistance or response, it is disrespectful (and a bit stupid from a business pov) not to reply.

If someone sends a personal email which is like a letter (full of news, how are you, etc), unless you never want to hear from the person, it is more respectful to reply, even just to say "great to hear from you'.

If it's just a forward or a joke, I don't think a reply is necessary. Also, if you reply to a business email to say 'thanks for your reply', and they send one back saying 'you are welcome (or similar)', no reply is necessary, because it just gets silly after that.

I do try to respond to all emails, but it is really hard! We are all being swamped with email and have less and less time left for other things!

Cheers :-)

Answer 4

Possibly yes. Because when you don't reply, the person who sent you the e-mail could be thinking that you either looked at it and didn't care or you just deleted it without reading it. That could give them the impression that you don't care. If you reply, then they would probably have the good feeling knowing that you payed attention to them.

Answer 5

it depends on the type of e-mail he/she sends

Answer 6

Here's an example:

i had accidently sent a forwarded email to a coworker i havent talked to in a long time...she responded with a personal email asking how i was...i emailed her back with a response and questions for her...

I received no response--it's been a week.  It was rude!

Answer 7

It really just depends on the type of email. If the letter was written in a way that warranted a response, then yes, it is rude not to write them back.