Teams (IM) messages while WFH (interest, benefit, background, coworkers)
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That sounds good on paper but in the real world this simply would not fly. If I'm a manager and I need something ASAP or hey, I just want to check in on my employees with a quick IM, I would expect them to answer in a reasonable amount of time.
I've worked with folks who I've IM'd who don't get back to me for 3 to 4 HOURS. If you have something pressing and email/call them and they still don't answer, that's a major red flag.
A response by the end of the business day is usually normal, unless you're on a super time-sensitive project. Most bosses and colleagues understand that sometimes you're in meetings, sometimes you go to lunch, and there are other things going on that mean you don't get an immediate response. Where I work, there are no real emergencies, so if I get back to an email or IM in a few hours, it's all fine.
So how is it any different with email? You can decline to reply to your boss' emails but have to jump on his IM's? How would it be any different with a boss hovering over you in a cubicle all day? Maybe you have a boss pinging you every five minutes but I don't think that is the case for 99% of people.
I think you know the answer to this already but for the sake of laying it all out.....emails don't pop up on your screen with a loud beep with a flashing light that won't go away until you click on it. With Outlook you also have the opportunity to set the Importance level so when something truly is urgent you can state "URGENT" in the subject line or set it to "High Importance" with the large red exclamation point. And I think at this point it's generally accepted that emails don't quite have the level of urgency than IMs do. You should IM someone if you need an immediate response, hence my whole point here. Traditionally, emails aren't urgent unless set at that level by the sender.
And just how often do you do this? Those of us saying to not let your strings get pulled like a puppet are not talking about how to slack off all day but how to keep things reasonably in check so you can be productive in your other duties.
Btw, the OP was talking about "peers" and gets it that bosses must be answered promptly.
Not sure I understand your question.
In terms of peers....as I said in an earlier post, if I don't report to this person and I don't deem it to be urgent, I will wait to respond. But most of us get IM'd by our managers too, not just peers.
I've had some peers who I grew to never respond to as they would IM around multiple people with the same question hoping one person would answer them. We found that out a year or so into her tenure that she was doing this.
I get very few IMs from my actual boss. He sit about 20 feet from me, so he just yells from his desk. I get them from my boss's boss, and from his boss, and from the half a dozen staff offices, none of whom I work for, but all of whom have been given the authority to task me (and the others at my level) directly as if it were coming directly from himself. The only part my actual boss plays in this is to hassle me if he gets any complaints from any of them. Otherwise he doesn't want anything to do with it.
It's gotten so bad the boss's boss and his staff just put things into their individual channels and expect us to constantly monitor those channels in case a tasker is in there. Last I check there were like 36 channels they put taskers into that I have to check.
Your problem isn't Teams, your problem is your job itself. I doubt your job would be any more peaceful if Teams disappeared from the face of the earth.
I think you know the answer to this already but for the sake of laying it all out.....emails don't pop up on your screen with a loud beep with a flashing light that won't go away until you click on it. With Outlook you also have the opportunity to set the Importance level so when something truly is urgent you can state "URGENT" in the subject line or set it to "High Importance" with the large red exclamation point. And I think at this point it's generally accepted that emails don't quite have the level of urgency than IMs do. You should IM someone if you need an immediate response, hence my whole point here. Traditionally, emails aren't urgent unless set at that level by the sender.
My Outlook and my Teams notifications are identical - the icon in the taskbar flashes and a red badge with a number is added to it to indicate incoming messages. The only popup I get with Teams is a request to join a meeting and it fades away after a bit.
In terms of peers....as I said in an earlier post, if I don't report to this person and I don't deem it to be urgent, I will wait to respond. But most of us get IM'd by our managers too, not just peers.
I've had some peers who I grew to never respond to as they would IM around multiple people with the same question hoping one person would answer them. We found that out a year or so into her tenure that she was doing this.
So your quest is to not get *any* interruptions? It sounded to me like this was not something that was a problem for you, that you had it under control by answering promptly the messages that need prompt answers and "slow-rolling" the ones that didn't. I'm speaking to those that can't seem to manage it without getting frazzled.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mila123
I apologize if this has already been posted, but does anyone else find it distracting (and annoying) when peers message you on Teams? I get it when my manager does because she needs something at that moment, but a coworker? Is email not an effective way to communicate...
I thankfully don't get a lot of that, but I do get a little bit, and it is annoying.
Some seem to prefer IM over email. I know my so-called "boss" does, for one. He's kind of a dope anyway, and isn't good at the skills needed to compose even an email, so he resorts to the quicker, easier, more junk-food approach. He's even said at times to "IM him" on matters, but I stick with email.
It's just a sign of the times, and dumbing down of skills. Just as we lost something when we went from letters to email, this continues the trend. Don't be surprised if we start seeing IM's entirely of emojis, that are to somehow to detail important business communications. Returning to kindergarten is the way of the future and our culture.
That sounds good on paper but in the real world this simply would not fly. If I'm a manager and I need something ASAP or hey, I just want to check in on my employees with a quick IM, I would expect them to answer in a reasonable amount of time.
This would be an exception no? If this is a constant thing.. then I'd say you have more issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florida2014
I've worked with folks who I've IM'd who don't get back to me for 3 to 4 HOURS. If you have something pressing and email/call them and they still don't answer, that's a major red flag.
In the end, I think as long as you're a good employee who does his/her job well and generally is pleasant to work with, your manager IMing you and you waiting to respond would not be a big issue. If you're a Class A Slacker with performance issues who calls out sick or generally isn't around a lot, it most certainly will be a problem.
And none of these are IM or communication tool issues per se.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tnff
I'm going to call the guy three levels above me and say we need to have a talk about how you are doing you job? People who do that search for other jobs.
I get very few IMs from my actual boss. He sit about 20 feet from me, so he just yells from his desk. I get them from my boss's boss, and from his boss, and from the half a dozen staff offices, none of whom I work for, but all of whom have been given the authority to task me (and the others at my level) directly as if it were coming directly from himself. The only part my actual boss plays in this is to hassle me if he gets any complaints from any of them. Otherwise he doesn't want anything to do with it.
It's gotten so bad the boss's boss and his staff just put things into their individual channels and expect us to constantly monitor those channels in case a tasker is in there. Last I check there were like 36 channels they put taskers into that I have to check.
As with the above - this is less of a technical solutions issue and more of a process issue.
If people three levels and down are constantly coming to you and expecting immediate responses where you can't actually get YOUR work done... than there is likely no application that is really going to resolve that.
So your quest is to not get *any* interruptions? It sounded to me like this was not something that was a problem for you, that you had it under control by answering promptly the messages that need prompt answers and "slow-rolling" the ones that didn't. I'm speaking to those that can't seem to manage it without getting frazzled.
HUH? Nice attempt to put words into my mouth, but no.....I never said that at all.
Do you simply troll around this forum looking for arguments? Really, that's like the basis of 99% of your posts. Don't you get tired of it?
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