Carrying too Heavy a Load? The Communication and Miscommunication of Emotion by Email

Abstract

Despite advice to avoid doing so, email senders intentionally and unintentionally communicate emotion. Email characteristics make miscommunication likely, and I argue that receivers often misinterpret work emails as more emotionally negative or neutral than intended. Drawing on the computer-mediated and nonverbal communication, emotion, and perception literature, I introduce a theoretical framework describing what factors make miscommunication most likely, how emotional miscommunication affects organizations, and how employees can improve the accuracy of emotional communication in emails.