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Over the past decade, social media platforms have increasingly become integrated into business communications. In the early stages of this digital evolution, people used instant messaging with their email accounts or inter-office messaging, and some companies even used Facebook to communicate with each other. Over a decade has passed since the time when people regularly used emails to issue a complaint or ask a question, especially when they felt it was urgent, but this has had an unexpected consequence for business communications.
“In finance, it always feels urgent,” shares Joselle Luzada, Director of the Moneybackers Division at Cyberbacker. “So there is an expectation to respond immediately.”
The impact of social media has heightened expectations for a timely response, which has subsequently placed an incredible amount of pressure on businesses and their employees. The constant need to monitor and respond to messages on communication platforms (e.g. Slack) has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life, leading to increased stress and potential burnout.
What’s interesting is that a timely response in a workplace used to be considered three days. Now, 52 percent expect a response within 12-24 hours. Moreover, with software like Slack, the expected response time is cut to only several minutes.
The challenges in response time expectations
The increasing expectation for time responses in the workplace, influenced by the use of social media, has brought a range of challenges that organizations and employees must continue to navigate. These challenges have significantly impacted the relationship between employees and managers and their overall productivity level.
One study found that emails and messages sent after work hours cause significant stress, even if they are not urgent. Congruently, messages sent via instant messaging (such as Slack), also cause stress. The urgency to address messages and inquiries promptly leads to heightened anxiety and a constant feeling of being on call.
While instant messaging is great, it also poses a real threat to productivity. A study conducted by the University of California and Humboldt University found that “after only 20 minutes of interrupted performance, people reported significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort, and pressure.” Not only that, but one single interruption prevented the worker from returning to their task for 23 minutes.
In response, some companies have banned instant messaging and require workers to pick up their phones to call or get up and find the person. Most of the time, people won’t do either of those things and figure out the answer on their own.
“I think it’s a problem of asking the same question,” shares Luzada. “I answer the same question over and over again, even though we’ve discussed it in meetings.”
Luzada isn’t alone in her sentiment. Sixty-five percent of employees say they find meetings unproductive and often tune them out, but these same employees will then sit down and ask questions, or have others ask them questions. Social media has conditioned people to receive information in their own time, at their own pace.
The benefits of responding quickly
Alternatively, there are many benefits to how social media response time expectations have positively impacted the workforce. For instance, social media and instant messaging have made it easier for workers to communicate, share information, collaborate, and foster respect among employees and employers.
In addition, having the ability for a company to respond quickly can help customer-facing or client-facing employees respond quickly to customers and clients. This leads to strengthened brand representation because it shows the company is reliable and attentive, fostering trust and loyalty.
The same holds true for workers. When the manager responds quickly, employees feel seen and heard, and when the employees respond, it shows they value their work and understand the overall objective of the organization.
Strategies for managing response time expectations
The line between challenges and benefits is thin and requires significant restraint from everyone involved. The most important thing is to consider two things: everyone has a job to do, and everyone deserves a work-life balance.
It’s important to set clear communication guidelines, either by making them company-wide or individual — or a mix of both. “Maybe the challenge is escalation,” Luzada shares. “Within our department, we have someone checking our daily messages from Cyberbackers. Sometimes, it gets to a point where we can’t answer everyone’s question.”
Training employees on time management and prioritization is a necessary strategy to avoid overwhelming managers and other departments. When done successfully, this can also help employees balance responsiveness with their workload.
Still, fostering open and transparent communication is essential, regardless of the guidelines set in place. The company needs to set preliminary boundaries, and each individual needs to set their own. This way everyone is communicating and being communicated to in a way that everyone is receptive.
Social media’s impact on response time expectations cannot be underestimated in today’s workplace. While there are still many challenges to overcome, there are clear advantages to responding swiftly. The benefits of implementing clear guidelines and fostering a supportive work environment far outweigh the challenges.
By leveraging advancing technology, companies can find a higher productivity rate while still ensuring employees’ work-life balance. Embracing the evolving dynamics of workplace communication is essential to thrive in this digital era.
