“An easier, more organized way to work.” This is what Slack, the workplace communication app, promises its customers. Maybe it’s an easier way to work, but it’s definitely not a happier way to live.
Since COVID-19 struck over a year ago, the workplace has invaded Americans’ homes, destroyed our work-life balance and eviscerated our mental health. Some of that decline is an inescapable consequence of lockdowns and social distancing needed to combat the pandemic, but much of it is our own fault. Apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams might feel necessary to navigate the remote workplace, but in reality, they are poisoning our personal lives and pointlessly crushing our productivity. They were here long before COVID-19, and unless we stem their infection of the workplace now, they could be here to stay.
For my own sake and yours, I hope they aren’t. Both apps and their competitors allow their users to turn off their notifications, but as I found out when I became an editor at The Emory Wheel, it’s not that simple. At the Wheel, there are no such things as working hours; editors are on call all day and every day, unless we specifically request time off. Wheel culture is so oriented toward constant availability for meetings, editing, discussions and writing that switching off notifications in the app feels like cheating, like falling behind. I finally muted mine a few weeks ago, but only because the weight of my course load, internship and other commitments gave me no choice. I felt like a failure for doing it, but my only offense was taking care of myself.
But this problem extends beyond the Wheel. For clubs, companies and organizations all over the world, Slack and Teams can blur the boundaries between work and life so completely that the concept of work-life balance loses its meaning. When Teams messages blow up your phone at 10 p.m., a personal life divorced from work starts to feel like a pipe dream. The advent of remote work this year has already broken the physical barrier, and now the technology we use to facilitate that is hampering our ability to mentally separate the two as well.
While these apps may feel productive, they are anything but. Where taking a few hours, even a day, to respond to an email is both easy and socially acceptable, Slack messages are instant. Just like texting, Snapchat and other social media, they tug at our attention until we respond. According to Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, this comes at the cost not of productivity but instead of our time and mental health. Slack and Teams are both stressful and distracting, leading users to accomplish less and feel worse while they do it.
To be sure, workplace communication tools can subvert toxic norms of professionalism, help coworkers and peers get to know each other and reduce the need for draining, stuffy emails. Nothing about them intrinsically requires users to constantly remain on call or feel as though they need to respond to messages right away. But their egalitarianism cuts both ways; the apps’ task- and team-based channels facilitate informal communication with coworkers, but they can also make you feel like your boss is constantly breathing down your neck.
As unfortunate as it is, we need Slack, Teams and all the rest to survive in the age of COVID-19. Even though these platforms’ myriad benefits cannot erase their toxic effects, they can still incentivize us to adapt them to our needs. If you run a workspace, set hard and fast rules for when the people with whom you work can message each other. Even if you are not in a position to make those decisions unilaterally, you can still model that behavior for others. If you’re too busy, stressed or tired to respond, don’t. Set personal boundaries and stick to them. Your health is more important than your boss’ baby pictures.
We are living in an extraordinarily fluid time. The workplace norms that are forming around us now will shape the professional world for decades to come. For that reason, setting a strong precedent against overusing pernicious workplace communication apps is of the utmost importance.
Use them sparingly, if at all. The choice is yours, but for my part, I plan to keep my Slack muted while I’m working or in class. If you really need to talk to me, send me an email.
Ben Thomas (23C) is from Dayton, Ohio.
