To not like impromptu calls on MS Teams?

[AlertBird]

I really dislike when people randomly call me on Teams without any warning. A quick message first would be nice! It always feels intrusive, especially when I’m in the middle of something or not in the right headspace for a call.

AIBU to find this annoying? Do most people just answer, or do you ignore and pretend you’re away?

It doesn't bother me, because either I am fine to answer or I message to say I will get back to them as soon as I have finished xyz.

My day is filled with impromptu Teams calls, or at best ‘can we just jump on?’ calls.

I’ll elect to not turn on my camera unless it’s a scheduled call. Is this because I might be under my duvet or wearing a face mask? Yes.

I feel the opposite, I find it mildly irritating when people ask, I'd rather just get straight into the conversation. Why add another step to a simple call?

If you are busy then just decline it and send them a message asking if they can speak later. I often do this if I am in an area where I don't want to disturb others and need a minute to find a different spot.

I did go through a period of trying to send people messages before calling but half the time they wouldn't see them and so I gave up and now just ring people. I do need to do my job and can't wait around all day for people to acknowledge Teams messages.

I have heard people at work say that they worry that if there is a phone call out of the blue it means something bad has happened. But the more we get into sending messages first as a norm the more people are going to worry about this rather than just assuming it's a standard call. I also honestly worry that people are not mentally robust enough to deal with calls as part of their job - there seems to have been a massive deterioration since I started working 15 years ago.

So you essentially have an issue with doing your job. When people call me (unannounced) and apologise for disturbing me I actually say don’t be so silly, it’s green call any time. If I miss it, I’ll call you back.

update will be your the receptionist 🤣🤣

I don't like it because a) I'm often in the middle of something I'd like to finish, and b) the people who often say 'this'll just be a quick chat' take 40 minutes to go through something they could have emailed to me. That's why I now just don't answer for those people.

You pretend that you’re not at your job? Christ! And people wonder why management want people back in the office. Either answer the call, or decline and message that you’re busy.

20 years ago can you imagine telling your boss you needed a warning before somebody rang you?

Well, times have moved on and communication etiquette in many offices has moved on with it.

I simply don't have time for every query thrown my way to be handled by video call, with appropriate pleasantries and bits of small talk, as is human nature when meeting face to face.

20 years ago, would you have been expected to hold 30 individual face-to-face meetings with colleagues in one day? With no notice or time to prep in advance, no idea what the query is? Of course not...who'd have the time. Plus it's totally time inefficient - the person being called may have to search for information, access certain client details or spreadsheets or whatever which takes time as it's a cold referral. Whilst the caller sits waiting, staring at you.

A video call is closer to an in-person meeting than a phone call. Totally unrealistic to be available for them with no notice.

No, I’m not the receptionist. I just prefer a quick message first - it makes things more efficient and avoids unnecessary disruption.

Exactly this. I don’t understand all these people who don’t want calls or someone coming to speak to them when they are at work. My diary is generally chocca so if I’m free then ring me, no issue. If you had to schedule a call every time someone wanted to ask me something it’d take 3 weeks!

Yanbu

The only person I respond to is my boss

All other ad hoc calls I call them back

Same. The time it takes them to write an email/message and me to confirm the call is OK is probably more time it would take me to answer their questions on teams call.

I prefer a message too, are you free, or whatever

Jesus I just call if people are on green, is that poor form? Is someone making a thread about me?

Surely if you are in the middle.of something you just set the status to busy?

Mad behaviour.

I don’t respond to unscheduled calls from clients full stop, on advice from management. We just don’t have time.

Internal TEAMS calls don’t get answered if I am busy thinking, planning, reading and responding to emails.

I much prefer emails as communication and rarely speak to anyone on the phone.

I find organising a meeting with just myself invited and me sharing my screen is the best tactic to stop people calling unannounced.

"Do not disturb" is taken to mean "call me I'm doing nothing much" by some people I work with. Being in a "meeting" where I'm sharing my screen seems to stop them.

Put your Do not disturb on in teams and timeblock your calendar. Works a treat.

I’m not familiar with all this green, DND stuff as I would only open the TEAMS app if I was going to a TEAMS meeting. Otherwise it’s not even open.

Not everyone works that way in their organisation.

You know that it doesn't have to be a video call, right? It's just like making a phone call which I do all day every day at work. It's easier to call my colleagues on teams because I don't have to look for their extension number.
I used to work in the same corridor with another team. Our offices were literally 5 steps apart. Everyone communicated via email which caused massive delays. I would just pop in to speak to a person next door and it was like I invented a whole new portal into a parallel universe. I feel like work communications etiquette makes less and less sense as time goes on.

I've been thinking about this recently because it annoys me too, but I get the comparison with a phone call/having a mobile and couldn't work out why. For me I've worked out it feels intrusive because I'm working on something on the same screen that then starts ringing/has pop ups. If it's my phone I can finish what I'm typing and then pick up , or ignore the call while I finish something important and call back, when it's on the screen I'm working on it's distracting and intrusive for me. Especially when people do it when my status is on busy, I get called when I'm in teams meetings, you can see I'm in a meeting and 99% of the time it's not urgent enough to leave a meeting. The ones that are generally ping a message saying I know you're in a meeting but I've got an emergency can I call you or can you call me as soon as you possibly can.

Do you know what I hate? The 'hi, how are you messages' that don't go anywhere because they're expecting you to answer them.

I just ignore them until they call me 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is bizarre. The unannounced calls I get on Teams, whether cameras are on or off, are just like the phone calls I used to get before Teams. They are nothing like a meeting.

If someone phoned up wanted an equivalent of a meeting with me unannounced I'd just say that we'll need time to consider before advising and they should email me with their query and any docs. A message to check if I'm free first wouldn't make any difference in such a scenario and it's overboard to say that nobody should ever call unannounced even if it's just a quick chat.

I don’t mind it if I’m showing as available, although a quick message beforehand is appreciated as it lets me find my headset/move to a booth to take the call (in the old days of landlines, we’d redirect the call to a booth to preserve confidentiality).

But fuck off with trying to call me whilst I have my status set as “busy - in a meeting” or “do not disturb” - I can’t take your call if I’m in an online hearing. Or running a large meeting via Teams.

Also, if you want a video call, then I need warning as I have to rearrange my desk to be able to open the laptop and use the camera due to the docking station set up.

Call all you like but I might be dealing with something in person, I might be in interview, in court, I might've just got up to go to the toilet, I might be on the phone. Just because I'm on green didn't mean I'm sitting around waiting to speak to anyone who fancies calling.
Last time I got a snotty email saying I was clearly too "busy" to answer their call even though I was on green then I was away from my computer, I was trying to prevent someone from committing suicide.

That’s because you’re not doing what you’re meant to be doing and you’re worried you’ll get caught ?