Teams Fatigue
I returned to my cubicle after lunch. I was greeted with 37 Team chats that came in between 11:30 - 12:30. The messages were from External employees either asking for assistance how to do a task or the annoying “Hi” chat. This has become a daily occurrence which is why I choose to eat lunch away from my desk as of late yet, my assigned phone still dings with notifications. Every bite of my overpriced $20 salad included a beep.
Is there no respect for the lunch hour? And, are Externals not trained in the simplest of tasks? Teacher is not in my job description.
So, I just spent 30 minutes deciding which chats to answer while a dozen more come in. My brain cannot process all these interruptions and distractions. It took 1/2 day to complete one of the annoying mandatory training classes because Teams never ends.
To make matters worse, bosses are monitoring your Teams status light. Typing answers is not collaboration which is why we are in house 5 days a week. Now add in the emails, where does digital communication end and vehicle engineering start?