The Email Signature Effect

Recently, I received an email from a work friend with an email signature that had an inspirational quote. The email address was his work account, which means that everyone he emails receives the same email signature. Although the quote wasn't offensive, this made me wonder if having a personalized email address is unprofessional.This issue depends entirely on the industry, profession, and company. Whereas some professions and companies are creative and offer a great degree of flexibility, other firms are very regimented and have employee manuals that outline what information is permissible in emails. Realize that the information contained within a work email can reflect upon your employers.

To be safe, I recommend asking an HR manager at your company to make sure that having your email signature is acceptable. Also, before you send out your personalized email signature, ask yourself if it creates a certain impression of you as a sender. Does it create an impression of you as a jokester, or as someone who doesn't take work seriously? Are there religious connotations in the signature? If so, you may want to reconsider having an email signature on your work account, and instead reserve this for your personal email account.