At work, when is it not ok to finish an email with どうぞよろしくお願いします?


Whenever I communicate with my Japanese coworkers, I always finish my emails
with どうぞよろしくお願いします。I guess in the context of an email in English it could be
akin to saying "Cheers" "Regards", so I unless I write どうぞよろしくお願いします, I will
be worrying that I was being too informal to that person.

When writing an email in Japanese, is there an scenario when finishing with
どうぞよろしくお願いします would be considered as being out of place or context?




Your question is "is there a scenario when finishing with [] would be
considered out of place or context?".

As you noted, 宜しくお願い is similar to "Cheers" or "Regards", but the main
difference is that neither of the latter are calls to action, whereas the
former has more of a feeling of asking something.

Accordingly, among coworkers, it's fine to use when you're asking for
something clearly scope of Things You're Allowed To Ask. I understand that may
sound subjective, but that's part of the nature of the Japanese workplace:
understanding your position.

On the other hand, if you're asking your boss to do something for you
personally, it may be too direct as it implies you think that the other side
will comply with your asking. In those more sensitive contexts, it may be
better to say 〜して頂け[ますと/れば]幸い[です／に思います], literally translating as "if you did
indeed do that, I'd be happy" without asking for it so directly.




Your question is "is there a scenario when finishing with [] would be
considered out of place or context?".

As you noted, 宜しくお願い is similar to "Cheers" or "Regards", but the main
difference is that neither of the latter are calls to action, whereas the
former has more of a feeling of asking something.

Accordingly, among coworkers, it's fine to use when you're asking for
something clearly scope of Things You're Allowed To Ask. I understand that may
sound subjective, but that's part of the nature of the Japanese workplace:
understanding your position.

On the other hand, if you're asking your boss to do something for you
personally, it may be too direct as it implies you think that the other side
will comply with your asking. In those more sensitive contexts, it may be
better to say 〜して頂け[ますと/れば]幸い[です／に思います], literally translating as "if you did
indeed do that, I'd be happy" without asking for it so directly.

