It’s time to 9-to-5 like a guy.
Sending soft, sweet-sounding work messages is so last year, or so say the powerhouse women of the “email like a man” trend.
“In 2025, we write emails like men and get promoted,” declared digital content creator @FeliciaPr1ime in a female-empowerment post.
The clip, which raked in over 46,000 TikTok views, features Felicia editing a work email, removing cutesy-speak, unnecessary pleasantries, punctuation marks and emojis to make her missive strong and straight-forward — like a no-nonsense businessman.
It’s a call to action inspired by “masculine” interactions.
But insiders warn that ditching gentleness for gruffness may be a major “mistake” for gals of the corporate world.
Nina Nesdoly, a work stress and prevention expert, recently advised that offices filled with “cutthroat” folks — rude ruffians lacking tact — often make for “toxic” environments.
Danaya Wilson, CEO of BetterCertify, a professional training company, cautioned that “perpetuating gender stereotypes” in the workplace could be “harmful.”
Instead, Wilson said, 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” in a report for WorkLife.
Ronald Levant, a professor of psychology at the University of Akron, feared that a swing towards behaving more manly on the job may backfire.
“For women to abandon skills that they have in abundance is a mistake,” said Levant, a former president of the American Psychological Association.
He noted a 2020 study from Harvard Business Review, which found that women outrank men in interpersonal skills, such as the ability to inspire and motivate, communicate powerfully, collaborate and build relationships.
“Based on our data, they want leaders who are able to pivot and learn new skills; who emphasize employee development even when times are tough; who display honesty and integrity; and who are sensitive and understanding of the stress, anxiety, and frustration that people are feeling,” researchers revealed.
“Our analysis shows that these are traits that are more often being displayed by women,” added the analysts.
That’s nice and all, but gals on the grind want more.
And since women have recently made tremendous strides in closing the gender pay gap — seeing millennial and Gen Z belles in cities like NYC and Los Angeles earn way more than their male counterparts — they’re now working towards outshining the guys in drafting virtual correspondences.
Kayla, social media’s self-crowned “corporate sprite guide,” shared the do’s and don’ts of emailing like a dude in a viral how-to.
She showed her online audience of 282,000 a work message that read: “Good afternoon, John. I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to see if you could provide me an update on the progress of the attached project when it’s convenient for you. No rush — just looking to stay in the loop and ensure everything’s on track for deadline in two days. Let me know if there’s anything I can assist with as well. Thanks so much!.”
But, to make it more masculine, Kayla erased the exclamation points, as well as all warm and fuzzy wording, like “I hope you’re doing well!” as well as “just” and “when it’s convenient for you,” rendering the e-note devoid of tenderness.
Office sirens on social media applauded her for the hot tip.
“This is so real,” cheered a commenter.
“I’ve done this and immediately HR got told I was mean and cold,” chimed another.
“Yes! Tired of one direction email courtesy,” added a burned-out businesswoman.
“Taking the fluff out is so hard,” another woman said, “but so worth it!”
