An Office Obsessed with IM

ON Jan 1, 1999 at 12:00PM

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Dear Ms.Demeanor:

My company has set up "instant messaging" on our intranet. Now it seems that my computer screen is constantly filled with messages from co-workers, and I can't get anything done. Is it rude to ignore an IM or close it without answering? How do I tell people that I simply don't have time to talk to them at the moment?

Jenna

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Dear Jenna:

Isn't it amazing that people feel as if they must apologize for doing work on work time? You could take the gradual approach and just generally let it be known that you can't deal with IMs all the time. If your system is such that you can block IMs for periods of time, do so. I really dislike IMs for the same reason I dislike call waiting: last come, first served. They are inherently rude systems. If you can't block them, then I'd give everybody one last chance before ignoring them. I'd just reply, "Swamped. Later." If none of these options are effective, you really have no choice but to ask management to issue a policy on IMs because of the abuse. Good luck.

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