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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not want to be in a work WhatsApp group?

102 replies

workwhatsapp · 22/12/2021 07:26

I got added to a work WhatsApp group when it was originally created sometime last year and it really annoys me. They don't really use it during work hours, but every evening and even on most weekends it's pinging constantly talking about work.

I'm a part time employee with young kids and a life. When I leave work I don't think about work until I am next in work. I don't want to spend my evenings chatting about it with my colleagues. I muted it straight away but sometimes don't click on it for a while and it will have 100s of messages and it shows everyone I haven't opened it and then I get comments made to me about it.

AIBU to just leave and tell them the frequency of messaging is too much in my spare time and I would rather not be in the group at all then be dug our for not opening and replying to the messages in it?

OP posts:

MrsLargeEmbodied · 22/12/2021 08:17

they take up space on my phone,
i do mute it
and periodically empty it

justustwoandmoo · 22/12/2021 08:19

Don't see the big deal personally. If you don't want to read the messages then just mute them. Leaving the group is just asking for people to wonder why you are being funny with them and I couldn't be bothered with that.

OhGiveUp · 22/12/2021 08:31

I've always refused to have any work SM, including WhatsApp.
Nor do I look at work emails or answer work calls in my own time.
You want me to do work related stuff including SM or phone calls outside my hours then you pay me for my time, which strangely enough my employer doesn't want to do.

lap90 · 22/12/2021 08:34

I wouldn't leave. I just mute and check occasionally and don't chat... and delete the crap people send on there.

Sparklingbrook · 22/12/2021 09:16

I love being part of the works Chat (we don't use Whatsapp) . I love my job and I really like the people that I work with. Sometimes a question will pop up while I'm on a day off and if I can answer it and help the department, I'm happy to if I can. I treat it as I would a message from a friend or family.

That said though I have adult DC it would be different if I had pre school children probably.

AfterSchoolWorry · 22/12/2021 09:20

Mute it for a year.

🤷🏻‍♀️

NandorTheRelentless · 22/12/2021 09:20

@SomeoneInTheLaaaaaounge

Delete WhatsApp - you can manage without. It’s a game changer.

Why should op delete something she may be using for her own purposes??

It's a communication tool, not just a work tool

Soontobe60 · 22/12/2021 09:21

@ellesbellesxxx

I left a work WhatsApp chat for this very reason, I was only in one day a week and it was pinging constantly. I did mention it to the head teacher first.

I’m guessing you’re a teacher? I want to leave my group what’s app but feel duty bound to remain. We often get updates and info this way that I’d miss receiving as a part timer. I feel bad for wanting to mute it!

ItsSunnyOutside · 22/12/2021 09:23

I got added to a work WhatsApp group many years ago, it must have had about 15 of us in it. Quite a few who I didn't know.

No exaggeration, after the 1st week, I had about 125 notifications. I couldn't keep up, people were just sending random emojis and writing 'lol'
It was really irritating.
I couldn't be arsed with it, so I quietly left. This was before I realised people could see that you had left the group

BackInBlackAgain · 22/12/2021 09:40

I left my works one. I work with a woman that i really dont like (she doesnt like me either), its bad enough having to listen to her talking all day and by God she likes the sound of her own voice but i found her constantly using WhatsApp, all evening, every weekend, i felt like i had no escape from her. Best decision ever.

JuergenSchwarzwald · 22/12/2021 09:42

I mute it and periodically delete it all as well.

I have also archived two groups I don't want to leave but don't need to see on a regular basis.

It is a bit annoying that you can't leave a group without people noticing.

User2638483 · 22/12/2021 09:43

The mute and archive buttons are your friends here

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 22/12/2021 09:57

Mute it. Check it occasionally if you want. Or don't. It's unofficial and therefore entirely optional, by the sounds of it.

certaynly · 22/12/2021 10:22

YANBU at all.

I was offered a job recently and instantly added to the whatsapp group when I accepted the offer.

Phone did not stop fucking pinging. 50 messages in 24 hours.

I told them to shove the job up their hole (in a politer way).

What the fuck is this nonsense and why are we allowing it to become normal?

Original poster

workwhatsapp · 22/12/2021 11:17

As I said I muted it straight away, but there are comments being made about me not opening the messages and not replying to stuff

OP posts:

Redcrayons · 22/12/2021 11:21

I mute mine and check it once a day. Drop in a thumbs up every other day.

I also tell them I’ve accidentally turned off notifications and don’t know how to turn it back on. They helpfully send me screenshots, but I just don’t seem to have that option. 🤷🏻‍♀️

PeaceLilian · 22/12/2021 11:23

You're not unusual in muting it OP. I have done so with mine, but it's still available and if I need to contact someone it means their number I'd easy to find ( I haven't added many to my personal contacts)
Frequently clear chat with or without reading the messages.
The important stuff gets emailed.
People really shouldn't be hassling you about what you have or haven't read. That would possibly me off too!

PeaceLilian · 22/12/2021 11:24

piss me off!

LindaEllen · 22/12/2021 11:33

DP has a work WhatsApp and we both hate it. He works in the funeral industry and they put info about funerals on there - meaning there could be info about the route, the service, the cars etc, at any time of day. He has tried muting it in the past but then he's missed things and got into trouble for it.

I've told him he needs to stand up for himself because he shouldn't have to be dealing with work all day every day (you know what I mean anyway) and really work info should be spread through official channels - they all have an email address. In the days of GDPR is it right to share everyone's running sheets with everyone else, or have their phone numbers available in the group for all to see?

Takeitonthechin · 22/12/2021 11:34

Mute them... who needs to be talking work, when you're not in work, haven't they got anything better to do!

Sparklingbrook · 22/12/2021 11:40

There's no pressure in our group to answer anything when not at work. That's not right. Some people in our group very much dip in and out.

It's just useful for the 'does anyone know where this is/anything about this' etc A quick reply helps the whole department in the long run. People that don't know anything about the question don't reply.

LaBellina · 22/12/2021 11:40

Do you use your personal phone for this what’s app account? I wouldn’t like the idea of everyone I work with knowing my private phone number, seeing my profile picture and when I’m online so in that case I would leave the group. If it’s a work phone, just mute and ignore. The arrogance to think they have the right to be policing you over when you should be reading and replying to their their silly chatting in your own time is staggering and I wouldn’t even bother to give them an explanation or an apology. You don’t owe them anything other then doing your job and this nonsense is not a part of it.

Shedmistress · 22/12/2021 11:49

@workwhatsapp

As I said I muted it straight away, but there are comments being made about me not opening the messages and not replying to stuff

And you respond by saying 'I mute this outside of work hours, if you want me to be opening and replying you need to stick to my working hours which are M-F 10-3 [or whatever they are].'

Grandville · 22/12/2021 12:53

YANBU. We have one but it never gets used out of office hours and most days has no messages. It's really only used for letting people know if our Internet has dropped out or something like that.

HollowTalk · 22/12/2021 13:13

But how can they tell if you haven't read the messages?

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