Personal messages such as condolence letters and congratulatory letters are never appropriate in the workplace.

Condolence letters are brief personal messages written to comfort someone after the death of a loved one. You may have occasion to offer condolences to employees or other business associates (when the person has lost a family member)or to the family of an employee or business associate (when that person has died). One prime opportunity for sending goodwill messages is to congratulate individuals or companies for significant business achievements-perhaps for being promoted or for attaining product sales milestones.