Russell Handorf says there’s one sound he wouldn’t surprise in his nightmares: the unmistakable knocking brush of the chat app Slack in the workplace.
Handorf, an engineer at a San Francisco-based technology company, says he gets at least 1,000 notifications a day across various Slack channels and workspaces. He’s become so used to receiving Slack notifications that when his wife’s Slack app rings at home, he has a visceral response.
“It’s like going off a smoke detector’s battery,” he says.
But Handorf admits he hasn’t done enough research into changing Slack’s settings.
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Handorf is not alone. During the pandemic, more people relied on digital communication services like Slack to collaborate and communicate with their colleagues. More than two years later, they have become common workplace tools. According to data from research firm IDC, Slack, along with apps from Microsoft, Google and Zoom, is among the top four collaboration applications in the workplace. But many Slack users complain that constant alerts, spurred on by everything from direct messages to comments in group chats to mentioning their names, have created a sense of urgency and stress. And some say it leads to “notification fatigue” as employees try to track conversations across different channels and groups.
But people can find some relief with a few adjustments. And when all else fails, workplace experts say users can always rely on the low-tech solution: turn off your device.
Here are a few ways employees can make Slack less chaotic.
– Organize your sidebar. One of the easiest ways to keep track of conversations is to organize your sidebar, which appears on the left side of the screen and helps you navigate channels, direct messages, mentions, and threads.
“We want more people to be in a happy place,” said Jaime DeLanghe, senior director of product management at Slack. “But first, we need to make sure they don’t… get pinged by colleagues all day long or have unmanageable channel lists.”
You can sort channels (click the three dots next to “channels”) alphabetically, by recent activity, or priority, putting the most used channels at the top of the list. You can also right click on a specific channel and select “move to new section” to group related channels together. For example, users may want separate sections for channels related to fun, internal communication, or team projects.
– Mute, pause or set hours for notifications. Muting channels and conversations and setting notification hours can also help reduce stress.
Jonas Leupe
Slack messages on your phone no matter where you are can be a mixed blessing.
You can change your general notification settings in ‘preferences’. Enable settings so that they are only warned for direct messages or when names or specific keywords are mentioned, or choose not to be warned at all.
You can adjust the same settings – minus entering keywords – for individual channels, which can also be muted. Muted channels are channels that receive some or all notifications. They also remain gray and bold when there are new messages.
Do not disturb hours allows users to set days and hours when they do not want notifications. During that time, Slack will display a small “z” next to users’ names to indicate to others that they are unavailable. Users also have the option to “pause notifications” or update their statuses for certain periods of time at any time.
Finally, you can change the knock brush sound to other options, including a “thing”, “plink” or a voice saying “hummus” in the notification preferences. You can also set specific sounds to distinguish between different types of notifications.
– Integrate apps so they sync. Slack offers a list of apps that can be integrated into its service, such as Zoom and Webex, marketing and sales software HubSpot, and calendars from Google and Microsoft. Integrations allow users to manage multiple services and keep colleagues informed of what’s happening.
You can start a Zoom meeting from Slack or see who’s in the Zoom call in Slack before joining. By integrating your work calendar into Slack, your status is automatically updated to show when you’re in scheduled meetings.
– Automate some tasks.
Employees who regularly need specific information can create automated questions or messages to inform their colleagues of what is needed. For example, IT employees want to know what a problem is, its urgency, and other technical details. In that case, they can create a workflow, represented by a lightning bolt symbol, to direct people to an IT request form within Slack.
“If … people post a lot of feedback … and it never has all the right information, then it causes a lot of noise,” DeLanghe said. “Workflow builder allows you to funnel it into one frame.”
You can set up custom messages that colleagues receive when they join a channel and set up automated daily reminders for regular meetings.
– Use shortcuts for faster navigation. Slack offers several keyboard shortcuts that may make navigation faster when different workspaces and conversations notify you.
To quickly switch between conversations, type command + K on Mac or control + K on Windows and type a person’s name or channel. And you can switch between workspaces with a few keyboard shortcuts.
On a Mac, to navigate to a previous workspace in a list, press command + shift + [. On Windows, hit Control + shift + tab.
To go to the next workspace on a Mac, press command + shift + ]† For Windows, press control + tab.
To jump to a specific workspace on a Mac, press command + the numbers one through nine, which are associated with the order in which the workspaces are listed. Typing the number one will take you to the first workspace. To do the same in Windows, type control + the workspace number.
– Check how much time you spend. Workers need to understand how to use their technologies to get the most out of them, say experts who study work stress and technology.
Mindy Shoss, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida, recommends doing a time audit for a week or two to see where you spend your time. Adjust if necessary.
“How do you use Slack? When these messages come in, do they give you a break, help you, or give you a stomachache? That may mean you need to change something,” she said.
That might mean addressing team standards — maybe only certain messages are urgent — or only making yourself available at certain times, Shoss said. She also said employees need to be aware when checking their Slack — is it the last thing you look at before going to bed — and what effect that can have on stress levels. Make rules for yourself that will help you better manage your technology and your work, she said.
– Disconnect. Keep in mind that you also need time to recover and disconnect from work – something some employees find more difficult in hybrid and remote work environments.
Adam Chati, a visiting Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, said employees who don’t give themselves enough time to disconnect could suffer from something called “technostress,” which effectively makes them less engaged and productive. become. To avoid this, he suggests setting time periods to completely disconnect from work and workplace technologies. Take time to relax, which can boost energy.
“If we’re always connected, we’ll be so stressed out,” he said. Employees must make an effort to “stop work and relax”.