- If you have ever despatched a message that stated “hi” and nothing else, you might be responsible of “hey hanging.”
- Some staff say the apply could cause nervousness and disrupt productiveness.
- “Please don’t say just hello in chat,” an internet site on the problem reads. “Just ask the question!”
Have you ever been deep within the zone, lastly making high quality progress on a difficult undertaking that had stumped you for weeks, when the audible, abrupt, triple-ping alert of a brand new Slack message pulled you out of your concentrated state, solely to learn a easy message of:
“Hey.”
And nothing else.
You could also be a sufferer of so-called “hey hanging,” during which a coworker sends a quick greeting right away message however doesn’t truly inform you what they need — main you to, naturally, enter an nervousness spiral of hypothesis about whether or not you have executed one thing horribly fallacious or for those who’re about to get pulled off activity into one other undertaking.
Or perhaps you have been the one to ship a “hi hi” or “heya” or “hello” after which forgotten to observe up.
The apply of “hey hanging,” because it was known as in The Wall Street Journal, is a small manner during which coworkers can discover themselves out of step with one another, particularly within the age of distant work, which research counsel has negatively impacted communication within the office.
Workers who have interaction in “hey hanging” might not see the hurt in it, or they may intend to ship a fast follow-up however get distracted or pulled into one other activity themselves. Regardless of why they do it, some folks on the receiving finish are begging them to cease.
There’s even an internet site devoted to condemning the apply: nohello.internet.
“Please don’t say just hello in chat,” the web site says, “Imagine calling someone on the phone, going hello! then putting them on hold…”
“Just ask the question!” the web site reads, together with a whining emoji.
The Journal talked to pairs of coworkers who had totally different views on the topic. One model strategist in Chicago instructed the outlet when her colleague “hey hangs” her by way of textual content, she merely would not reply till they ship a observe up with the precise query.
But the “hey-hanging” colleague instructed the Journal she thought beginning with a easy greeting was simply being well mannered.
“It’s kind of rude to jump into someone’s texts and word-vomit whatever I want,” she stated. “But now I’m seeing it’s a thing that people don’t necessarily love.”
Ultimately, if a colleague often “hey hangs” you and you discover it disruptive, it is best to speak to them overtly and actually that you simply’d want extra info within the preliminary attain out, Constance Hadley, a professor of administration and organizations at Boston University, instructed the Journal.
In half, as a result of I may relate to having my editor “hey hang” me, I hesitated a second earlier than bringing this story as much as her by way of Slack.
But she responded in a short time.
“ugh i do this to ppl all the time,” she wrote. “and i feel terrible.”