This is the most useless phrase to put in an email, expert says: ‘It accomplishes nothing’

‘Just checking in’ is considered one of the worst phrases to put in an email and etiquette experts are begging you to stop.

As reported by Parade, according to modern-day etiquette, boundaries and relationship expert Jenny Dreizen, you might as well be shouting into the void if you’re using that wording.

“This is a vague non-statement that is basically the same as saying, ‘Pushing this to the top of your inbox,’” Dreizen, the COO and co-founder of Fresh Starts Registry, she told the outlet.

Dreizen also explained that it’s not doing what you think it is.

The phrase, “just checking in” in an email is all fluff, according to experts. bodnarphoto – stock.adobe.com

“‘Just checking in’ does not accomplish the task it seemingly needs to, which is to force the issue or expedite the to-do item,” she said. 

“When we’re using email as communication, we want to be as straightforward and direct as possible. This phrase accomplishes nothing while also coming off vaguely passive-aggressive.”

That doesn’t mean every email has to be robotic or ruthless, but Dreizen argues that if you want results, you have to be clear.

She suggests swapping the fluffy “just checking in” for something, like: “Wanted to know how progress was going on [action item].”

“Writing emails to ensure people respond to your questions and/or get things done is an art,” Dreizen explained. 

Speaking of wanting to get a point across in an email, some employees are shying away from being overly polite in their OOO responses — and are instead telling it how it is.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, 62-year-old chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Barry Ritholtz has no problem being blunt in his automated replies.

“I am out of the office having way more fun than communicating with you,” his reply says, according to the Journal. “I will likely forget to email you back.”

“During this time, I will be out of the office, not checking emails, avoiding texts, ignoring Slack, letting calls go to voicemail, off the grid, and generally unreachable. As such, my auto-responder is, well, auto-responding,” the rest of his email read.

And while some employees are taking the straightforward approach in their work communication, some female workers are choosing to “sound like a man” in their emails to get what they want, despite experts warning against it.

“In 2025, we write emails like men and get promoted,” wrote content creator @FeliciaPr1ime in a social media post that garnered over 46,000 views.

While this is an empowering statement for many women, “’perpetuating gender stereotypes in the workplace could be ‘harmful,'” said Danaya Wilson, CEO of BetterCertify, a professional training company in a report for WorkLife.

It’s “better to communicate directly, with brevity, and focus on information exchange, but we don’t have to necessarily align this with masculinity anymore,” she added.