Wechat

17 reasons do not use chats in work.

pros
Group chats are good when ...
1. You need to say something quickly. Nothing is better than the chat if you need to throw the ideas between several people. He threw a few words, threw a picture, received a feedback, went on (just get out quickly until it sucked back).

2. Anxiety. Sometimes it is extremely important to transfer urgent information to people. When there is a crisis that you really need to urgently react to: the server has fallen, the release does not pass, and so on. There are many opportunities to instantly transmit information to people, and the chat or channel is one of the options.

3. Fun. Rejoice at work is just as important as working. And the chat is good for this. There is their own culture, their jokes, emoji, people end up with sounds (in Campfire), throw memes. Chat is an ideal place for all this.

4. We need a feeling of belonging. It is especially important for those who work remotely. When you can just say "good morning", say that you are going for lunch, and just feel part of the team helps not to go crazy.

Minuses
Group chat as the main method of communication in a group or organization leads to ...
1. fatigue and mental exhaustion. Follow the chat all day is how to sit all day at a meeting without a goal and with random people. It often turns out that a dozen such round -the -clock meetings come out! You always hear that it's just tiring. Constant conversations, constant chatter without beginning and end. You can decide not to pay attention, but then you begin to be afraid that you will miss something.

2. Culture of urgency. Now! In essence, group chats are entirely about communication in real time. Therefore, in some conditions they show themselves very well. But the chats make us believe, as if everything needs to be discussed right now, but only so rarely. It turns out that little needs to be decided urgently. Moreover, this urgency culture is swollen - all messages that are not written "urgently" are depreciated. You will not notice how you can do something only throwing everything and demanding an urgent answer. As if you constantly clap everyone on the shoulders so that they stop the work, and answer what worries you. This is a dubious practice.

3. It is afraid to miss something, or that they will not hear you. If you do not constantly follow the chat, then you will not be able to say something when suddenly something important. And all the conversations go quickly, and go further along the conveyor. If you are not in this moment, then then it will not work to say something. This makes people follow the chat for days, in case the topic is an important topic for them.

4. Thinking with short messages, instead of thinking, formulated thoughts. Things that should be discussed should be discussed for a long time. Because in the chat everything comes out in short messages, complex thoughts slowly roll out along the lines. But since at any moment someone can fly, attempts to convey ideas quickly begin to disappoint. Moreover, undercooked thoughts and a staccato answers lead to the fact that it is difficult to fully consider the topic and make important decision - especially in the group. Imagine a meeting where everyone speaks at one proposal, and where you are constantly interrupted. Would it be productive? And how much would this last?

5. implied agreement. "Because it was discussed in the chat, everyone who needs it is known." And so it happens-something is discussed in the chat, and no one objects. After that, it is assumed that everything has read everything, and everyone agrees. Only they did not read, and did not agree. Decisions are made without the consent of people, because they were not when it was discussed. This is all due to the previous minuses - "right now" this is a rare time for discussion and for conclusion.

6. sharp answers. In chats, everything is discussed as if the plane is falling, and this is the last opportunity to speak out. There is a short temporary segment to be heard before the topic changes. People shout something, only to hear them. Just like on Twitter. Accelerated conversations lead to a repetition of superficial phrases, like leading on TV, which have only three minutes to convey a thought before the segment ends.

7. Piles and collapsing conversations. Several people begin to discuss something. Everything goes well. Someone flies, throws a comment that transfers the whole conversation in a completely different direction-usually dubious. Then, someone else comes in, and still throws something. The original group is losing control of the conversation. The fact that only a couple of people were discussing becomes a dialog for six, if not more. Everything is quickly falling apart. The environment sets up on such situations, because at any moment someone can go and insert something without reading into the situation. Chat conversations can begin well, but everything ends there.

8. incoherence and wasting time. Discussions for a couple of minutes can take 20+ if they are carried out in the chat. Long conversations between groups of people are difficult to end, especially when someone else can come in at any moment.
When it seems that everything seems to end, it all starts again - often repeating what has already been talked. “We have already discussed this,” over and over again in chats around the world.