A work environment with constant online chatting has many great benefits. There is quicker feedback to ideas, as well as a more transparent and sharing-focused environment that reduces silos of secrecy and confusion. But it also has its downsides, and when not used with care, it can distract and waste time at a serious level.
And if you use these systems badly, it doesn’t only hurt productivity, but it will also make you look really bad in front of your boss or client! “Why is John distracting everyone with silly memes again? I’m paying him to work!” is a thought many a boss has had.
Here are some tips to get the best of virtual work environments with real-time chatting, like Slack, while avoiding the downsides.
First, talk only about work, except in limited situations in which you can briefly talk about non-work issues. Occasionally sharing a personal update (“I’m getting married this morning, wish me luck!”) Occasionally sharing a funny meme. Avoiding politics or any hot-button issue that is both controversial and non-work-related.
The key to these is “occasionally.” The rule of thumb I would use would be, non-work-related comments should be 1 out of 20 of all your comments or fewer. Even if it hits 1 out of 10, it will leave your boss or client feeling like you’re spending too much time having fun and not working. 5% is the right balance.
Secondly, never write any sentence that could be twisted out of context and used against you.
Third, assume your company will have access to every word written or spoken on a company computer, company email, company Zoom, etc. They may or may not, but assuming this is only a good thing. You’re sending a private slack to someone else complaining about the boss? He. Will. See. It.
Fourth, on channels that are core to your work, acknowledge that you read every non-trivial point, even with just an emoji. I added the “non-trivial” clarification because you don’t need to do that when someone says “thanks,” for example.
Fifth, on your channels of focus, ensure that every idea discussed gets an owner and/or a ticket so that it actually happens. The core problem with Slack is that a lot of things are discussed but rarely turned into action. By being on top of that problem, it is easily solved. Your boss will seriously appreciate that, because this, more than anything, keeps the ball moving forward.
Sixth, err on the side of sharing too much (for anything work-related.) Better that the team has too much context, than too little.
There is a broader implication here, how much of your work time should be spent discussing non-work issues with your colleagues? The answer relates to your work objectives. If you want to really grow as a professional and learn, then keep that number to 10% of your work time or less. And if you spend more—you may not realize that everyone including your bosses will notice, but they will. Gossip networks are both real and inevitable, and the gossip itself may just map to reality in a way that makes us a bit too uncomfortable to admit.
