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Original poster

Teams messages: Hi

188 replies

Ultravox · 14/03/2025 10:45

AIBU to hate it when a colleague starts off a conversation like this?

Colleague: Hi

Me: Hi

Colleague: How are you?

Me: I’m fine thanks - how are you?

Colleague: I’m fine. Can you send me that sales spreadsheet please?

I mean I guess I don’t have to ask them how they are, but it feels rude not to after they have asked how I am! But really, are either of us going to type about how we really are on a teams chat? And without any context of what they actually want I can’t really say how busy I am. Honestly it would save so much time if they just wrote

Hi Ultravox. Could you send me that sales spreadsheet please?

YABU: you are a killjoy - they are just being nice and you should smalltalk for a bit and ask them how they are too

YANBU: it’s a waste of time and typing - just cut to the chase!

OP posts:
Usernamesarenoteasy · 14/03/2025 12:05

Anyone that send me a teams message that says either
Hi
Or hello usernames
or any variant with no actual message gets ignored by me. Completely.

houwseevryweekend · 14/03/2025 12:05

YANBU

My pet peeve especially when they then take a while to reply after the Hi. Waste of time as I'm then just waiting around - just get to the point.

ruethewhirl · 14/03/2025 12:05

FortyElephants · 14/03/2025 10:46

I HATE receiving a 'hi' message. It's perfectly fine to write 'hi X, hope you're well, please could you do XYZ task? Thanks'

Exactly this. That way the pleasantries are taken care of but you still get to the point. Just 'Hi'/'How are you' etc would drive me crackers, I'm glad no one I work with does this.

TokyoSushi · 14/03/2025 12:04

Oh I work on a project with a ‘Hi’ person, I always found it a bit odd! I’m very much of the ‘Hey, please can you send me that spreadsheet’ persuasion!

Kbroughton · 14/03/2025 12:04

MrsSunshine2b · 14/03/2025 11:55

They are trying to be polite and maybe don't know how to go about it. Possibly they are ND or just struggle with social skills. Did it really ruin your day or can you just continue with it?

As someone with ADHD being interrupted with a non productive message (s) is actually really challenging.

Peaceandquietandacuppa · 14/03/2025 12:04

My boss does this but it’s more like:

Boss: Hi

Me: Hi 😊

Boss: Oh sorry got distracted - can you do XYZ

Me: No worries (secretly thinking why not just type it all in one line, then send!)

Kbroughton · 14/03/2025 12:03

hahahahha. I HATE it when people just send one message 'hi kbroughton'. and then you have to into teams and say hi. Just ask what you want and be on your merry way!

Peaceandquietandacuppa · 14/03/2025 12:02

TallulahBetty · 14/03/2025 10:56

This., It's fine to make small talk, but put it all in the opening message ffs!

Hi Brenda, good weekend? Can you send those figures please?

DONE IN ONE

Show quote history

hahaha! Yes. Done in one is my new work mantra!!!

AffIt · 14/03/2025 12:00

It drives me mental.

To an extent this is a me thing, as I acknowledge that I have a fragile attention span and being interrupted by a 'hi' then waiting however long them to get to the fucking point is a nightmare for me, but really, how hard is it to just type the whole bloody thing?!

I notice this particularly among younger team members (I am a Xennial). The greatest thing I ever did for my own sanity was teach grad intakes about the art of the soft return.

MrsSunshine2b · 14/03/2025 11:55

They are trying to be polite and maybe don't know how to go about it. Possibly they are ND or just struggle with social skills. Did it really ruin your day or can you just continue with it?

CrispyK · 14/03/2025 11:55

ShaunaSadeki · 14/03/2025 11:50

Like PPs I do this by accident as I hit return expecting it to just go to a new line, despite working remotely since 2020 and using Teams or Google meet daily 🙄

I always assume this is what’s happened so I ignore ‘hi’ messages until the person has had chance to write the rest of their message.

Randomsabreur · 14/03/2025 11:53

Option 2 is missing backspace and getting enter instead...

Yes I need to get better at typing!!

Randomsabreur · 14/03/2025 11:52

If I send "hi" it means I mistimed the coordination between shift and enter that teams requires for a soft paragraph break without sending. More likely if I've been doing lots on word/outlook than if I've been on teams for a while ...

ShaunaSadeki · 14/03/2025 11:50

Like PPs I do this by accident as I hit return expecting it to just go to a new line, despite working remotely since 2020 and using Teams or Google meet daily 🙄

Hairoit · 14/03/2025 11:50

I guess they are getting you to demonstrate that you are available to chat and therefore can’t put off the spreadsheet sending by pretending not to have seen the message?

ButteredToast9 · 14/03/2025 11:50

I have Https://nohello.net/en/ as my teams status message, I think things have improved since I put it on there.

For those that don't want to click the link, it's basically just a webpage that explains why it's ridiculous to just say "Hi" and then sit there waiting, and gently encourages people to just get on with it!

no hello

please don't say just hello in chat

https://nohello.net/en/

SuspiciousChipmunk · 14/03/2025 11:49

I don’t read a message if all they have wrote is ‘hi’. I wait for them to get to the point or I leave them hanging.

oncemoreuntothebeachdearfriends · 14/03/2025 11:47

I used to have that sort of greeting as a "signature" that I could insert quickly if needed.
I didn't realise it was in a different font, & it got picked up & I was told it looked insincere !!!!

VerySkilledFirefighter · 14/03/2025 11:47

I refuse to reply to a hi message, I’ll reply when there’s an ask of me. I’m not getting into a back and forth of hellos.

I do start my messages with a “hi”, but more like “hi, I am working on this project - have you got the data I need”

wishiwasjoking · 14/03/2025 11:46

Lavender14 · 14/03/2025 11:35

In my previous places of work this sort of conversational approach was encouraged. In my current place of work we're encouraged to phone or go and speak to people instead of using teams or emails to encourage good team dynamics. Which in fairness does work and we have a really close knit, friendly team but I like having things in writing so I know what's been agreed and I can go back and double check if I need to.

Show quote history

I hate that, I find it very intrusive that people think they can just interrupt me and demand all my attention by calling or showing up in my face. It's never as important to me as it is to them. The amount of lunches that have gone cold or stale or not as nice because someone wants to talk for ages too - ugh.

I'll get to your thing when I get to it, it will happen, I'm just in the middle of something else right now and you're slowing me down.

Diningtableornot · 14/03/2025 11:46

I would groan.
How about:
Hi
Hi, what can I do for you?

Ddakji · 14/03/2025 11:45

Why aren’t these convos happening on email? I refuse to use Teams as I like a clear record of work convos that I can easily refer back to.

Superscientist · 14/03/2025 11:43

For it depends. I have colleagues where I will message checking in on them catching up on how they are like I would in the office. There are a handful of people where I'd have these conversations a couple of times a week and am in contact with outside of work. I'd do pleasantries and then request

Everyone it's. Hi, I hope you are well then request.

EmpressaurusKitty · 14/03/2025 11:41

My biggest hate is when people press return after every line. I start answering & then realise there’s more coming. At that point I normally ignore them until about 10 mins after their last message to make sure they’ve stopped.

lemonylantern · 14/03/2025 11:39

I don’t even respond to ‘hi’. Just say what you need