By Dana P Skopal, PhD

Reading and writing are a part of everyday life, especially for managers. When writing at work your boss may keep re-writing your draft documents before a final version is accepted, but when you write to your friends, your emails are understood in the first instance. The same author can receive different responses to their writing, and this raises many questions about writing in the workplace when compared to writing for everyday communication.

A large workplace will produce copious documents by many different writers. Why do managers often re-write their staff’s documents? Is the manager a linguist who fine-tunes the grammar? Could it be that the manager is re-ordering information from a different perspective?

Re-writing or re-ordering information can occur for numerous reasons. Re-writing can occur if grammar is incorrect or if alternative vocabulary is preferred. Re-ordering often occurs because the manager, as the person who grants final approval, perceives the argument or key information flows more clearly when placed in a different sequence. If your written work has been changed, did your manger explain the reasons to you? Or did you just accept the edited changes?

There are many writing guides available for business writing, with most organisations adopting templates (with instructions) to guide their staff. However, if the instructions or template are not well-defined, it can be difficult for employees to write the necessary information in the way or style that the boss expects it.

Workplace writers and their managers can work together and focus on:

1. defining or clarifying the purpose of the document (to inform or describe all the risks?)
2. understanding the readers’ requirements (who is the final reader?)
3. organising the ideas logically, with key information first (are you persuading?)
4. agreeing on a writing style (use a practical style guide – not a 100 page version)
5. editing and formatting to make the message clear so the reader will know what they need to do (even talk with document designers).

Another thought: a manager, as a writer in a position of authority, may feel the need to leave their linguistic footprint on every document. If the message was written clearly in the first instance, would a manager still mark it with their linguistic footprint?

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