You must be young. There are norms for telephone and email that have been in place for a long time. If someone sounds flippant, they probably are. Youngsters in the workforce now aren't nearly as productive as they should be. It seems they don't appreciate the fact that they are being paid to perform the tasks given to them as rapidly and accurately as possible. They have lost track of the notion that reducing their employer's business workflow will eventually result in loss of revenue, maybe even loss of employment.
Get huffy and puffy as much as you wish. If you want a good job, act like you care about your image and that of your employer.
Actually I’m old enough to remember offices before email … when people would use phones or even send around hand written notes. Maybe even walk over yonder.
Do you think the “paperless office” and what came from its aspirations reduced paper work or just made it easier to produce more activity that appeared to be productive?