3 excruciating email blunders we never recover from

3 excruciating emaille blunders we never recover from3 excruciating email blunders we never recover fromYouve most likely fallen prey to a missent email at some point in your career (darn you, Reply All).While a quick sorry follow-up is usually enough to quell any issues, sometimes that one email sent by accident can have bigger repercussions for your job or reputation- and five professionals are breaking down what happened when they did just that.What are the biggest takeaways they have for you the next time youre tempted to send that mean message about your boss or forward something on an email chain? Here are the three most important lessons they learned.1. If Its Personal, Say It in PersonAnna, a high school English teaczu sich, says she and her fianc got into a pickle after he tried to invite a specific co-worker to their destination wedding- and he accidentally sent the email to the whole office.He felt awkward for the next few days as he fielded wedding questions from his co-w orkers, some he hardly knew, she says.The lesson? After that, he realized it was easier to just talk about personal things in-person or at least through text message. Its easy for things to get off-track when youre sending dozens (if not hundreds) of emails per day, so take it offline as often as possible.2. Dont Vent Online- EverWhen she was in grad school, Briana, a PhD candidate, had a frustrating professor who decided last-minute to make her turn in a paper when she was trying to work on her dissertation proposal.I wrote a lengthy email to my friend venting all of my frustrationsor so I thought. Instead of hitting Forward, I had hit Reply, she recalls. Unsurprisingly, it did not go over well.Briana isnt the only one to take the vent online approach and have it nearly backfire. Damian, a full-time writer, once meant to sent an email to a small group of co-workers criticizing a recent email their boss had sent with company policy changes. But instead of sending it to trusted peers , the email went to everyone at work.Luckily for Damian, his boss never saw the email a co-worker who knew their supervisors computer password helped him break into their boss office and delete the message.You probably dont have that option.Looking back on the experience two decades later, he has some simple words of advice for his younger self Sometimes, self-editing means not saying or writing anything, especially if its a gut response based on emotions (and ego).While its best not to vent to co-workers for a variety of reasons, at least do it when youre not in your cubicle.Another pro-tip? If youre using Gmail, you can enable the Undo Send feature, which could save you from more than a few sticky situations.3. Keep Work and Play SeparateJessica, a professor, was looking to leave her job and had befriended the assistant to her boss, the department chair, in the office. The assistant had access to the department chairs email and one day forwarded a job listing from the address to L auren, to which she replied thanks xox, not realizing it was sent to her boss- who could now see that she was searching for another job.Forward is forewarned, Jessica explains. Always check the return e-address before sending a reply If the email was forwarded to you, it may not be going where you think. On top of that, make sure that if youre doing something that isnt work-related, keep it off of your work accounts at the very least, even if its more effort to do so.Jamie, an account executive, once got called into her boss office a week into her first job after she accidentally forwarded some online shopping emails during her work hours she thought were going to a friend who had the saatkorn name as her supervisor.Luckily, I was young and my boss was nice, but she made it clear that I needed to be doing my work at work, she says. It was a dumb and totally avoidable situation that made me look immature, not to mention email-illiterate.When it comes to email etiquette at work, all f ive professionals agree The best thing you can do is take as much of your life offline as possible.