Emails vs Chat

Is it just me or has our use of emails been replaced by chats in Teams or other such office messaging system?

Since the pandemic started, the number of emails I receive daily has dropped. On some days it’s nil.

However, the number of (active) chat’s I’m involved in, either with an individual or a group/meeting, has rocketed.

Arghhh. Where we once complained of email-overload … it’s now chat-overload! Where I could easily receive +100 emails per day, as well as a few meetings (1-3hrs), the opposite is now true: 5-7hrs of meetings (and messages from meeting participants AND other colleagues) and only 1-3 emails. Maybe less.

Where we used to be unavailable if we were in a meeting (you could see me in the room through the glass window, paying attention and not looking at my screen), now it’s expected that we’re paying attention to the meeting AND the wider chat channels.

It’s too much.

• This post is Day 36 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Want to get involved? Find out more at 100DaysToOffload.com.

Photo credit: Jay