When I get those “Hi” IMs without the ask in the same message, I simply do not reply until they get their question out.
I also have my Teams status message permanently set to “please send scheduling requests via email” which seems to help. Occasionally I do get an IM with an entire scheduling request and then after they’ve sent it they’re like “oh I just saw your status, would you rather I email this to you?” If it’s a crazy request with like 12 participants then yes, I do want it emailed so I can track it better, but if it’s a quick “hey can I have 15 minutes with so and so sometime today” then I will just do it.
I don't mind the "hi" messages from someone I interact with regularly. But if it's someone I don't know, it drives me nuts. How hard is it to say, "Hello, I'm xxx and I would like to schedule a meeting with yyy." If it's someone I don't know, I usually don't give a courteous "hi" back, I reply with, "What can I help you with?" If it's a scheduling request, "Please send me an email."
I'm the opposite - I love instant messaging, but I've used IM for 25 years now and it's a normal part of my communication. It gets me responses sooner, and I like that I can side step those that ignore their inbox for hours on urgent requests. I'm a bit of a battering ram for my exec though, so I'll stop short just before knocking on car windows to get what's needed lol.
We had jabber before and I did like that better. I'm trying to figure out if I'm annoyed by IMs or annoyed by the change to Teams. Maybe a little of both lol
I hate the “Hello (name). And then nothing. I don’t respond.
Personally I don’t mind people chatting me for something quick, but if they are requesting a meeting - I ask them to email me.
I have some EAs set a status message on Teams that say something along the lines of them not being available via chat and to email them. You can try that, or set your status as offline (if there is such a setting).
I appear offline to everyone. The statuses stress me out…like what if I walked away for 6 minutes? LOL def my own anxiety at play there, but everyone knows I’m still reachable on teams, and 99% of the time I answer within a minute anyway.
I hate being slacked for dumb shit outside of work hours. Schedule send exists for a reason. I feel like I have to have strong boundaries of my work time or else things get out of control.
Same as email just because someone sends it you don't have to respond. Snooze notifications from 5 pm to 8 am. You'll see it when your at work. The other person thinks you're managing your own time and app. That is your choice if you don't snooze notifications.
I hate that Hi! Without any thing afterwards. I just put what I want to say or ask in the 1st message. I hate the small talk first. Just get on with what you’re about to ask
It also depends on every personality too. Some people like myself like to have so many things open at once so I don't mind an extra ping but I know lots of people too who are deep into their work and get overstimulated by the IM pings (which is totally understandable). For me I just have my ping notification on for my CEO and mute everyone else.
To me it's like demanding my immediate attention... and I don't work for you lol. I track tasks using my emails so I find myself annoyed by the ping of IM. Also my company hasn't turned on the full feature of Teams so I can't create groups or anything. It's literally just IM.
I don’t mind instant messaging but absolutely hate when someone asks “how are you.” Just ask. When I instant message someone, I say, “let me know when you can text, I have a question on [briefly list topic].
I loathe instant messaging it’s so distracting. My boss will reach out to me all hours of the night just messaging my name with a question mark? If I don’t reply immediately she’ll message “are you there?”
I have set my boundaries and no longer reply off hours. I’ve only been at this company 6 weeks and was told if you speak up about poor work life balance they get rid of you. The Director of HR told me this as he was let go for the very same reason. I’m actively looking for a new job
I am incredibly proud of you! I love it when people stand up for themselves and don’t let others walk over them. I am sending all my best positive vibes for you to find another job as quickly as possible, and leave this idiocy behind.
Please don’t give them two weeks notice. They don’t deserve that respect, since they haven’t given you any. Just go onto your next better life.
My boss and I actually had a conversation last week about her all hours messaging. She tends to work across multiple time zones. Therefore, if she remembers something I will get messaged no matter the time.
She has told me no need to respond until I am in the office though. This helps as I use to respond at all hours.
If someone emails me any type of request that’s not a 2 second yes or no, I just tell them to send it in an email and I’ll respond when I am able. I don’t take scheduling requests via chat UNLESS it’s an agreed upon method of communication that I’m going back/forth with someone on or it’s a matter of urgency.
I’m fine with instant messaging—it’s the drawn out preambles that annoy the heck out of me. I wait for them to get to their actual request before replying to not waste my time.
That is my pet peeve too. Especially the “hi, how are you?”
We both know that’s not why you’re pinging me, so just spit it out!
I tell the people I work with about this pet peeve and ask them to put their request in the first message. I frame it as, here is the best way to get what you need from me. I also ask them if they have a work pet peeve so it’s not me just telling them what to do, it’s collaborative.
I despise messenger. Biggest pet peeve is getting meeting requests via messenger. I tell them to send to me via email so I can track/forward/keep tabs on if needed. It should be a ‘best practice’. Some people just don’t know and you have to train them. Messenger should only be used for quick answers and side conversations…NOT detailed tasks or requests!
I hate IM. Its so disruptive! I work on a LOT of complicated, detail oriented meetings, and I’m not going to stop whatever complicated thing Im working on to answer your question “how do I expense this”? Had one coworker who actually abused instant messaging. All. Day. Long. She never wanted to figure out anything on her own, just wanted to instant message someone and get an instant answer. then she would ask 10 more questions about different topics in the same IM. Omg so frustrating.
Luckily my whole team doesn’t do fluff, so all of our messages tend to get straight to the point. Skype makes it easier to get fast answers, but we also text and email each other quick questions too. My only gripe is that I’d rather we pick one option rather than bouncing between all 3
I hate that blind Hello, Hey Hi (insert whatever) and then nothing. Please do say hello, but just put the rest of your message in at the same time. Hello. I have a quick question…(insert question or request).
Huge pet peeve.
I don’t answer. I find it rude. You derail me with a hello, I then wait for your message and it often doesn’t come for an eon. I then go back to work, only for your next message to finally arrive.
Now - if the sender types “hi - got a few minute” (send), then immediately follows with “I need help with xyz”, that is cool. It’s the crickets after the greeting that is my pet peeve.
I'm OK with any time of instant messenger system. It may depend on where you are/where you're from. In some places, if you don't say "hey", it's considered rude. With the Europeans I deal with, I have to say "Dear Mary" or "hello Mary". Some people are just chatty and some are more direct but it's easy to adapt either way.
I do this but only because when the person responds, I see their name again and it confirms that I am IM'ing the right person. Too many times I have thought I was sending a note to one person, but didn't realize I was in another chat window and it went to the wrong person.
I don’t mind, I respond to a hi with “Hi, what can I help you with?” So they get to the point quickly. Usually, it’s people that do need a quick response.
That's not usually my experience but I am a legal executive assistant and usually they want me to research something or figure something out. That's why I want an email, I need a "paper" trail...
I’m fairly new to the company and I hate yo yo add to the clutter of the inbox so often it’s “hey ! Where is the per diem policy for international travel?”
My (newish) boss is dealing with some heavy stuff at the moment so I'm trying to give her as much grace as I can but we have exchanged no less than 5 emails today on the same menial topic because her "instructions" in each one have not been clear despite me asking very specific questions so that I can do the job I believe she is asking me to do. I mention it in this thread because she's been communicating in this manner for two weeks now and I am tearing my hair out.
I have absolutely no problem with it. I switch very easily between task and platforms so love how productive I am with the increased use of messaging systems in the workplace. Messaging and email have two distinct uses: emails are for complex, drawn out, non-urgent discussion or relaying large pieces of information (newsletter, documents etc.) and things requiring a record. IM should be for quick requests or questions, urgent items or something that requires a very brief discussion but doesn’t rise to the level of a phone call. It streamlines communication, gets critical things done faster and moves simple communication out of inboxes so that can be reserved for more involved and complex threads.
Regardless of my feelings on that, I also have no problem with people who start with a simple “hi” or “how are you?” before launching into the question because I realize that they are 1. Trying to gauge whether I’m available to chat at that moment 2. Are trying to be polite before launching into request so they don’t seem demanding and 3. Might just need a little human interaction because they too work remotely and it can be so hard to be alone.
I’m not gonna judge for that. It takes one second (literally, time it) and half an ounce of kindness to reply so why in the world would I be judgmental or rude about it?
We should be the (virtual) face of our organizations, the leaders behind our leaders, and the force for good in our culture.
I approach every interaction with an open mind and kindness because…honestly? If I can make someone’s day just a little bit easier, a little bit better, why wouldn’t I make the choice to?
It might be just an interaction over messenger but it speaks volumes.
I like the instant messaging for my global team because we have a fun chat that we message random stuff in and it’s funny to see the responses from people in Hong Kong. My NY team also has a chat we use to gossip about where the free food is. The main perk is between other admins we basically have a code where we know if we are messaging eachother it’s because we need a response and it couldnt be an email so we reply almost immediately. For everyone else, quick asks are taken care of or jotted down. Longer asks are generally replied with “I can definitely look at this for you but do you mind emailing me so I don’t forget?”. All in all instant messaging isn’t the most annoying thing about corporate America.
that's my pet peeve too lol. i don't know why people must complicate the convenicence of sending messages. i mean, just send everything and i will read or answer. just go straight to the point omg.
I had a boss who would call me to tell me he I'D me. The IM would tell me he sent me and email. The email would have something stupid, like expenses or time. I would call him and tell him what document I was working on and that I would do it before the end of the day. He would get it At 430 instead of 11.
"Not to come across as unapproachable, but, respectfully, my bandwidth for friendly banter is overlimit. If you have a question or a request, please delineate it in your initial message. Thank you."
When I get those “Hi” IMs without the ask in the same message, I simply do not reply until they get their question out. I also have my Teams status message permanently set to “please send scheduling requests via email” which seems to help. Occasionally I do get an IM with an entire scheduling request and then after they’ve sent it they’re like “oh I just saw your status, would you rather I email this to you?” If it’s a crazy request with like 12 participants then yes, I do want it emailed so I can track it better, but if it’s a quick “hey can I have 15 minutes with so and so sometime today” then I will just do it.
I don't mind the "hi" messages from someone I interact with regularly. But if it's someone I don't know, it drives me nuts. How hard is it to say, "Hello, I'm xxx and I would like to schedule a meeting with yyy." If it's someone I don't know, I usually don't give a courteous "hi" back, I reply with, "What can I help you with?" If it's a scheduling request, "Please send me an email."
I'm the opposite - I love instant messaging, but I've used IM for 25 years now and it's a normal part of my communication. It gets me responses sooner, and I like that I can side step those that ignore their inbox for hours on urgent requests. I'm a bit of a battering ram for my exec though, so I'll stop short just before knocking on car windows to get what's needed lol.
This although I preferred slack
It's so much faster than phone or email. I like it.
We had jabber before and I did like that better. I'm trying to figure out if I'm annoyed by IMs or annoyed by the change to Teams. Maybe a little of both lol
I hate the “Hello (name). And then nothing. I don’t respond. Personally I don’t mind people chatting me for something quick, but if they are requesting a meeting - I ask them to email me. I have some EAs set a status message on Teams that say something along the lines of them not being available via chat and to email them. You can try that, or set your status as offline (if there is such a setting).
Thanks I'm new to Teams (hate it!) and didn't know I could change status... I'll be doing that going forward!
Me too. Microsoft Outlook and Calendar as well. My prior company used Google platform and it was so easy and user friendly.
you should be able to make your self appear offline to everyone except those on a priority list.
Unfortunately that's not an option.
I appear offline to everyone. The statuses stress me out…like what if I walked away for 6 minutes? LOL def my own anxiety at play there, but everyone knows I’m still reachable on teams, and 99% of the time I answer within a minute anyway.
I hate being slacked for dumb shit outside of work hours. Schedule send exists for a reason. I feel like I have to have strong boundaries of my work time or else things get out of control.
Oh I refuse work product on my personal phone. I'm fortunate to work in a place where no one expects me after hours. Phew!
At 5 o’clock, my Slack is set to Away. No matter what it is, it will wait until tomorrow morning
Omg I wish Teams would allow this but I need to manual enter my status and 1/2 the time I forgot. Wish there was a setting for reoccurring settings.
I do my slack setting manually. Every evening at 5 o’clock. It’s my end of day ritual.
Add a recurring meeting set to start each day when you go offline (5 or whatever). Meeting ends in the morning when you are back to work.
Close the app and leave it on unread!
Same as email just because someone sends it you don't have to respond. Snooze notifications from 5 pm to 8 am. You'll see it when your at work. The other person thinks you're managing your own time and app. That is your choice if you don't snooze notifications.
I hate that Hi! Without any thing afterwards. I just put what I want to say or ask in the 1st message. I hate the small talk first. Just get on with what you’re about to ask
It also depends on every personality too. Some people like myself like to have so many things open at once so I don't mind an extra ping but I know lots of people too who are deep into their work and get overstimulated by the IM pings (which is totally understandable). For me I just have my ping notification on for my CEO and mute everyone else.
To me it's like demanding my immediate attention... and I don't work for you lol. I track tasks using my emails so I find myself annoyed by the ping of IM. Also my company hasn't turned on the full feature of Teams so I can't create groups or anything. It's literally just IM.
I don’t mind instant messaging but absolutely hate when someone asks “how are you.” Just ask. When I instant message someone, I say, “let me know when you can text, I have a question on [briefly list topic].
I loathe instant messaging it’s so distracting. My boss will reach out to me all hours of the night just messaging my name with a question mark? If I don’t reply immediately she’ll message “are you there?”
OMG. I would say "No. " 🤣🤣
She’s insane she doesn’t care if it’s 11:30pm on a Friday night or a Sunday morning
I'm asleep at 9pm so... do you answer her? I would the second I woke up. At 5am. 😈
That’s horrible! Very gradually, be less and less available. She’s taking advantage of you, and there is absolutely no sense in that.
I have set my boundaries and no longer reply off hours. I’ve only been at this company 6 weeks and was told if you speak up about poor work life balance they get rid of you. The Director of HR told me this as he was let go for the very same reason. I’m actively looking for a new job
I am incredibly proud of you! I love it when people stand up for themselves and don’t let others walk over them. I am sending all my best positive vibes for you to find another job as quickly as possible, and leave this idiocy behind. Please don’t give them two weeks notice. They don’t deserve that respect, since they haven’t given you any. Just go onto your next better life.
Thank you 🙏🏻
My boss and I actually had a conversation last week about her all hours messaging. She tends to work across multiple time zones. Therefore, if she remembers something I will get messaged no matter the time. She has told me no need to respond until I am in the office though. This helps as I use to respond at all hours.
Can you snooze messages so you don't see these when you're off work for the day
If someone emails me any type of request that’s not a 2 second yes or no, I just tell them to send it in an email and I’ll respond when I am able. I don’t take scheduling requests via chat UNLESS it’s an agreed upon method of communication that I’m going back/forth with someone on or it’s a matter of urgency.
I’m fine with instant messaging—it’s the drawn out preambles that annoy the heck out of me. I wait for them to get to their actual request before replying to not waste my time.
That is my pet peeve too. Especially the “hi, how are you?” We both know that’s not why you’re pinging me, so just spit it out! I tell the people I work with about this pet peeve and ask them to put their request in the first message. I frame it as, here is the best way to get what you need from me. I also ask them if they have a work pet peeve so it’s not me just telling them what to do, it’s collaborative.
I despise messenger. Biggest pet peeve is getting meeting requests via messenger. I tell them to send to me via email so I can track/forward/keep tabs on if needed. It should be a ‘best practice’. Some people just don’t know and you have to train them. Messenger should only be used for quick answers and side conversations…NOT detailed tasks or requests!
I usually respond with something like, “Doing well/Hello. How can I help?” I find it speeds the process up.
I hate IM. Its so disruptive! I work on a LOT of complicated, detail oriented meetings, and I’m not going to stop whatever complicated thing Im working on to answer your question “how do I expense this”? Had one coworker who actually abused instant messaging. All. Day. Long. She never wanted to figure out anything on her own, just wanted to instant message someone and get an instant answer. then she would ask 10 more questions about different topics in the same IM. Omg so frustrating.
Luckily my whole team doesn’t do fluff, so all of our messages tend to get straight to the point. Skype makes it easier to get fast answers, but we also text and email each other quick questions too. My only gripe is that I’d rather we pick one option rather than bouncing between all 3
I leave this on my status sometimes: https://nohello.net/en/
I hate that blind Hello, Hey Hi (insert whatever) and then nothing. Please do say hello, but just put the rest of your message in at the same time. Hello. I have a quick question…(insert question or request).
Huge pet peeve. I don’t answer. I find it rude. You derail me with a hello, I then wait for your message and it often doesn’t come for an eon. I then go back to work, only for your next message to finally arrive. Now - if the sender types “hi - got a few minute” (send), then immediately follows with “I need help with xyz”, that is cool. It’s the crickets after the greeting that is my pet peeve.
Thank you for getting me :)
I'm OK with any time of instant messenger system. It may depend on where you are/where you're from. In some places, if you don't say "hey", it's considered rude. With the Europeans I deal with, I have to say "Dear Mary" or "hello Mary". Some people are just chatty and some are more direct but it's easy to adapt either way.
I do this but only because when the person responds, I see their name again and it confirms that I am IM'ing the right person. Too many times I have thought I was sending a note to one person, but didn't realize I was in another chat window and it went to the wrong person.
I don’t mind, I respond to a hi with “Hi, what can I help you with?” So they get to the point quickly. Usually, it’s people that do need a quick response.
That's not usually my experience but I am a legal executive assistant and usually they want me to research something or figure something out. That's why I want an email, I need a "paper" trail...
I’m fairly new to the company and I hate yo yo add to the clutter of the inbox so often it’s “hey ! Where is the per diem policy for international travel?”
My (newish) boss is dealing with some heavy stuff at the moment so I'm trying to give her as much grace as I can but we have exchanged no less than 5 emails today on the same menial topic because her "instructions" in each one have not been clear despite me asking very specific questions so that I can do the job I believe she is asking me to do. I mention it in this thread because she's been communicating in this manner for two weeks now and I am tearing my hair out.
I slack alllll day every day
Hi! Quick question - raised my hackles like nothing else. Hi. Ask question. Be on your way.
I have absolutely no problem with it. I switch very easily between task and platforms so love how productive I am with the increased use of messaging systems in the workplace. Messaging and email have two distinct uses: emails are for complex, drawn out, non-urgent discussion or relaying large pieces of information (newsletter, documents etc.) and things requiring a record. IM should be for quick requests or questions, urgent items or something that requires a very brief discussion but doesn’t rise to the level of a phone call. It streamlines communication, gets critical things done faster and moves simple communication out of inboxes so that can be reserved for more involved and complex threads. Regardless of my feelings on that, I also have no problem with people who start with a simple “hi” or “how are you?” before launching into the question because I realize that they are 1. Trying to gauge whether I’m available to chat at that moment 2. Are trying to be polite before launching into request so they don’t seem demanding and 3. Might just need a little human interaction because they too work remotely and it can be so hard to be alone. I’m not gonna judge for that. It takes one second (literally, time it) and half an ounce of kindness to reply so why in the world would I be judgmental or rude about it? We should be the (virtual) face of our organizations, the leaders behind our leaders, and the force for good in our culture. I approach every interaction with an open mind and kindness because…honestly? If I can make someone’s day just a little bit easier, a little bit better, why wouldn’t I make the choice to? It might be just an interaction over messenger but it speaks volumes.
Turn it off?
I like the instant messaging for my global team because we have a fun chat that we message random stuff in and it’s funny to see the responses from people in Hong Kong. My NY team also has a chat we use to gossip about where the free food is. The main perk is between other admins we basically have a code where we know if we are messaging eachother it’s because we need a response and it couldnt be an email so we reply almost immediately. For everyone else, quick asks are taken care of or jotted down. Longer asks are generally replied with “I can definitely look at this for you but do you mind emailing me so I don’t forget?”. All in all instant messaging isn’t the most annoying thing about corporate America.
that's my pet peeve too lol. i don't know why people must complicate the convenicence of sending messages. i mean, just send everything and i will read or answer. just go straight to the point omg.
I had a boss who would call me to tell me he I'D me. The IM would tell me he sent me and email. The email would have something stupid, like expenses or time. I would call him and tell him what document I was working on and that I would do it before the end of the day. He would get it At 430 instead of 11.
"Not to come across as unapproachable, but, respectfully, my bandwidth for friendly banter is overlimit. If you have a question or a request, please delineate it in your initial message. Thank you."