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Comment by andyjohnson0 | Hacker News Reader

"Please watch your inbox for important information about your employment status tomorrow. [...] Looking ahead, I am confident National Geographic’s mission will be fulfilled in powerful, new and impactful ways, as we continue to change the world through science, exploration, education and storytelling."

Why do CEO-types feel the need to write these bad-news emails like they were some kind of press-release?

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It lets the employees know it isn't personal. Something, something, consoling, something, something, moving onto new horizons.

It's neutral speak to avoid a lawsuit, let people know it isn't personal, and to sound professional if (when) it is sent to the press.

"Please watch your inbox tomorrow" is a terrible way to officially tell someone they may be laid off.

Certainly a good way to stop all work at a company until those emails go out.

I really hate "professionalism". Yes, it's not personal, but only because the persons who are affected by this, are not seen as persons by management.

I agree with you. This approach is just a hand-wringing attempt to weasel out of the blame.

It's easy to poke fun at people writing these emails until you have to write one yourself. Then, not so much.

Big changes have consequences, and trying to be too 'caring' or personal can lead to further problems. There were a couple of threads on hotmail a few months ago that covered it well.

But the basic fact is that these types of emails have been A/B tested over time and you're looking at the winning format.

Consider that it may not be them that wrote the e-mail as much as their own internal PR department. I've been censored within my own company before and I'm not even an executive, and considering the legal impact of almost every memo sent out, legal teams are constantly reviewing everything a Fortune 500 CEO would be writing out up to and perhaps even including his grocery list to his personal assistants.

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