Do you cringe when you hear a co-worker say “could have went” instead of “could have gone,” or “should have did” instead of “should have done?” Do you groan inwardly (or maybe aloud) when you read an e-mail from a colleague asking you to “call Sally and I” rather than “call Sally and me?” Do you think no one else notices these mistakes and that you’re the last bastion trying to hold out against the onslaught of mangled grammar? Well take heart. You are not alone.
A few years back, the New York Times ran a piece cleverly titled, “What Corporate America Can’t Build: A Sentence.” Among the article’s comments is the unvarnished statement that the millions of Americans who must write on the job “are making a hash of it.”
And lest you think that the literati who feed on the Times are the only ones who care, think again. Not only does corporate America care, but it is paying through the nose to correct a problem that should have been addressed in elementary school.
According to some estimates, Fortune 500 companies annually spend $3.1 billion – that’s right, $3.1 BILLION – teaching basic English to their employees. Many companies have established mandatory training programs that are repeated yearly. If you pass the test after taking the course the first time, you don’t have to repeat it. Otherwise, it’s back to remedial English class. Some companies are even requiring English proficiency tests as part of the hiring process.
American companies are not alone in dealing with the bad grammar problem. U.K. corporations, particularly those involved in global commerce, are having to face the embarrassing fact that their overseas customers speak better English than their employees who, ostensibly, are native English speakers.
The solution? Experts agree that CEOs must set an example, making professionalism one of the company’s core values. Part of presenting a professional image is communicating with correct grammar. Second, everyone in the company needs to recognize that both written and oral communications help set the tone by which a company is judged. In an increasingly competitive world, something as simple as bad grammar can mar the image, and thus the sales, of an otherwise fine company. One expert has gone so far as to insist that bad grammar is stealing from companies.
Now, please don’t misunderstand. We are in no way, shape, or form suggesting that you abandon computer science for a degree in creative writing or seventeenth century lit. You need a good STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and math) to get a lucrative job in this high-tech world. Once you have that education, you need to keep your technical skills up to date. But remember to keep your communications skills polished as well. That’s a mark of true professionalism.