To not to say 'good morning' ?

[MissMich]

I have been on furlough since the beginning of April. It utter shit... maybe the first week was 'fun' but I would rather be working. Whoever thinks that being furloughed is on holiday can come and swap with me as I have been loosing my marbles the last 2 weeks...
Anyway my question is regarding to my whatsapp group chat at work. Smallish company, only 15-19 people so there is a group chat for us all. Yay, great or well is it?! A bit of back info, I'm very very new to the company, started in February so haven't even had a chance to meet many of my colleagues in person ( company is split between 4 locations)... since the lockdown we have been keeping in touch on whatsapp. Some of my colleagues are still working - lucky ducks... and there is - well I believe - a few of us who don't ... but every single morning everyone says ' morning ' good morning ' hello' ☀️🌈☀️🌈☀️☀️🌈☀️☀️☀️' morning ' hi' and it's driving me nuts. Turned off the notifications but still look obviously when I open whatsapp. I say send a morning in every now and then however I can't help it but cringe at this... I want to work, I want to be busy and productive and do my best at work however I can't ... I also am fairly new so in need of help and some training (no training packages available to do unfortunately while on furlough) so I feel very distant, left out, useless and worry if I will have a job to go back to...
But the good morning messages, every single morning .... why?

You might be overthinking it. They’re just being friendly.

It take seconds to write good morning on Whatsapp.

My husbands company has conference calls every weekday morning and one afternoon a week. Lots of staff furloughed. It's to keep everyone up to date and encourage unity.

Yes it's a bit annoying, means even if your furloughed or in a day off you have to get up to sign in for 8.

some of the non-furloughed staff feel annoyed too. It's just about supporting each other I guess.

But the good morning messages, every single morning .... why?

So people wouldn't feel very distant, left out,...
Just do it for the team. It's 1 message. It may be helping some of them to not feel too alone

Because people are trying to regain some sort of normality and social connection during a weird time. It's not like they're writing 'go fuck yourself'.

Oh, I kind of get it totally. I've never been a Whatsapp person anyway (don't do social media of any type at all), but our management group set one up at the beginning of the lock down, and it's is never used for anything worthwhile. There's more virtue signalling on it than on MumsNet, and that's hard to do. There's a post about how wonderful "I" am (whoever is posting) because "I" did something that is my job to do, then everybody else piles in with the "ooo, you are wonderful". Our big boss appears to think that none of us can read or are smart enough to work out what to read because he mostly posts cut and pastes from the news. And every morning I wake up to about 50+ posts of this nature, like none of them have lives. It drives me batty. I never respond, and my excuse is always that I don't notice anything and forget to read it or check it because I'm not a social media person... so far that seems to be holding as an excuse, because most of them know it's true.

Just say good morning, you're making something of nothing.

We have it every morning too. I also think it's a way to check we're well and not passed out sick somewhere. Also if people are not talking to anyone in real life and might live alone at least this way they're getting a little bit of interaction. It's good to look out for team members.

I know what you mean but honestly, just say "morning all" or something and then get on with your day.

Or go the other way, start posting deep and meaningful thoughts for the day every morning, see how people respond to that!

Maybe go ott and spam the group with loads of crap pointless messages lol then they'll realise it's annoying...

Oh my inbox fills every friday with "God weekend" and at the office everyone shouts it as they go past which I find really disruptive. So I shut my office door.

I'd love to be in a work WhatsApp group like that.
I returned from mat leave at the start of March, worked 3 weeks and we then started working from home, worked at home for one week then was furloughed as I hadn't got any responsibilities and work was showing down, so easiest to do me.

I was readded to the office WhatsApp at the start of March, was removed at the start of April. When I questioned it the response was that because I'm not working, they don't want to bother me... I've just spent 10 months cut off, I'd love to know what's happening... 3 weeks later, still not been readded.

I think you're overreacting.

Just say good morning - it'll take you five seconds.

You managed to type an essay here, I’m pretty sure you can manage two words every morning. Maybe it’s like the register at school, to make sure everyone’s OK.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I understand where the ones who said I'm being unreasonable are coming from. Different points of views and very valid ones too... I still can't help it tho and find it extremely cringe... but I guess I got to suck it up and just send a 'morning' in the group... however please understand that doing something like this won't encourage unity.. when the furloughed staff sees the messages of the non furloughed staff sending about doing their work is crap... it's like 'yeah we are a unity but fuck off you who is supposedly at home watching Netflix as I'm doing your job and keep us going and you still get paid' but tomorrow I will send in another good morning along with several emojis ...

Hahah I can imagine it's really annoying. Sounds like a group I'm on with my MIL/SIL and partner.

Every single morning "Morning, how are you all?". Bored out my f*cking skull and have nothing interesting to say! Leave me alone!

Totally get it. Maybe occasionally send something back and leave it at that!

I would find that annoying too, op and I’d not be likely to join in. I assume you’re not obliged to though?

I dont think you are overreacting, everybody is different and some like this sort of thing and some dont. Personally I dont , I hate all the social media type of stuff and never get involved in it. Having said that, you say you are quite new to the job so I do think that it may be in your best interests to just 'go along' with it . Sometimes companies do this sort of thing for a reason. It really takes no time/ effort to do a ' good morning all ' post just to show you have joined in and done your bit for the day, then forget about it. Job done.

For totally understandable reasons you're overthinking this. They're trying to regain some positivity and normality. Sometimes stuff like this can seem trite but its just a way of staying on top of things and keeping everything moving.

If it really bothers you, mute the conversation. But you can't get pissed off with people for doing their best to keep morale up.

YABU. They're just trying to keep morale up.

they used to do this at my old work and it's overwhelmingly pointless

It's not a big deal to just skip past the waffle though

most people say good morning or Hi to other people when they get to work in real life probably not going around the whole building but certainly anyone you walk past on the way to your desk its a whats app way of doing the same. I think you are over thinking it but if they are sending XXOOXX then you would have a point

Try to look at it in the same way as your other morning commitments and duties

Wake up
Make coffee
Have wee
Put bins out
Say morning
Eat breakfast

but I guess I got to suck it up and just send a 'morning' in the group

It’s not really much to suck up though. 😅 It would take two seconds. Having said that, if you don’t want to then just don’t. It really doesn’t matter.

What's positive about everyone mindlessly repeating the same single word or phrase without reading or engaging with each other?