There’s a moment in every HR career where you pause mid-conversation and think:
…this can’t be real.
And yet—here we are. Explaining that responding to messages is part of the job. That tone matters. That “seen” is not a reply.
So let’s answer the question: do we need to teach employees the norms and basics of a professional workplace?
Yes. Enthusiastically, yes.
The basics (that are somehow not basic)
- Replying in a reasonable timeframe is not optional
- Meetings are not a suggestion
- “Per my last email” is not a communication strategy
- If you said you’d do it… you still have to do it
- All caps is not leadership presence
We’re not asking for perfection. Just… participation.
Why this is happening
Work looks different now. Remote, hybrid, Slack, Teams—everyone’s communicating faster, more casually, and often with zero context. Add in different backgrounds and wildly different past workplaces, and suddenly “professional norms” are up for interpretation.
Spoiler: that doesn’t go well.
What actually works
- Say the expectation out loud (yes, even the obvious ones)
- Explain why it matters (people respond to context, not commands)
- Model it—consistently
- Correct early before it becomes a personality trait
Final thought
It may feel ridiculous to explain that ignoring messages for three days isn’t a strategy—but unclear expectations are worse.
So yes, we’re teaching adults how to “work.”
Not because they can’t—
but because no one handed them the rulebook.
And apparently… we’re writing it now.