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?

Plus in the olden days, calls were redirected to my secretary if I was too busy to answer. I’ve lost that filter with Teams calls, and I do miss it!

what's the problem - are you WFH & it interrupts your childcare/doing the washing/morning TV?

Nooo! I am always outraged on the very rare occasion someone calls my phone. How am I supposed to talk without sharing my screen and pointing at things? Crazy.

She’s under the duvet so she needs to get up and back to her desk “ message”😂

Just ignore them @TeamMandrake they go away eventually.

Repeat offenders can be blocked and they will have to learn to use their email. 😀

Oh my goodness. It’s no wonder productivity is tanking. All this faffing around! Just answer the phone.

It's exactly like a phone call or someone knocking at my door. I don't answer 😁

YANBU I don't like it either but only because it's always a video call when I'm about to shove some food in my mouth or something 😂 I just don't answer if I'm not prepared to. I'll message shortly after letting them know when I'll call back.

I'm not a fan but it depends... If I'm showing as green, fair enough. If I'm red, it really annoys me and I will only answer if it's someone I can't say no to (although if I'm in another meeting I will still decline most calls).

It's just like someone ringing me on a desk phone to me.

If i can answer I will, and I'm as introverted and antisocial as anyone.

I actually hate it when ppl message me to say can I call. Just ring me, if I'm green I'm available.

I nearly always send a message first to say ‘are you free’. But I also don’t mind when my immediate colleagues cold call me on teams. I don’t like it if a colleague I don’t know from the wider organisation calls, but generally they’d send a message.

I guess it’s the generation we are in now. No-one likes calls without notice, personal or work.

You may like this then https://nohello.net/en/

Overall … I do feel like Teams calls are different to normal ones. In lockdown I think it was because we all WFH and it felt intrusive. Now I guess in the office I have to put my headset on, and might not even have it out and plugged in yet. It’s not team culture to do it though, so it does tend to induce mild panic … a bit like back in the day if I called my parents before 6pm and they’d want to know what was wrong …

We check by a quick message on Teams before calling. It feels civilised 😄.

It's the etiquette where I work to message before. I can be showing as green but that doesn't mean I'm actually free to take a call - in the same way that if someone came over to my desk and I was in the middle of something, I might ask them if they could wait 10 minutes or whatever. There is also no culture of taking calls at your desk in our office and so you're unlikely to be in a spot where you can take a call unless it's prearranged.

If I'm not in a very formal meeting and the ceo or coo call, I jump. I don't ecoect them to let me know in advance. If I want to speak to them I drop a msg to ask if and when they may be free.

If my team (reports) are not in a meeting, I call without messaging and expect the call to be answered. Usually they check to see of I am free before calling.

Cameras expected to be on at all times. People expected to be work ready between 9am and 5pm (more like 8am and 7pm for senior staff).

Before covid, we didn't walk into people's offices with bags over our heads and don't do it now. Therefore, cameras on.

Work is an important social construct.

Technology is meant to SAVE effort. Now you’re communicating to ask if it’s ok to communicate? It’s insane.

It’s like when washing machines were invented. People just washed their clothes more often. No labour was saved.

Humans are mad.

Mines open constantly, it is how we communicate,l and collaborate as a remote team, we dont email except for official messages, I spend 90 percent of my day on teams am in about 10 active team collaboration chats. It gives me a headache so learned the tricks. Today I was in a teams meeting at thr same time as replying to people on teams then other chats kept pinging and people were pinging me on other chats asking why i had not replied to the teams chat on the other chat. I also have three comletely separate team and email accounts on the same computer, two different client accounts and one is my consultancies account. I manage them in different browser windows. They are open throughout the day.
Actually, I have been feeling really stressed this week and I have just worked out why by typing this out. My life is ridiculous.

That's fine, presumably you just don't answer then and phone back? If you were in court or in interview or just away from your desk at any length of time I thought your status automatically turned to offline but that might just be my settings.

I dont understand how you're thinking of a teams call as being different to a phone call or someone walking over to your desk in you're in an office....

That’s awful @Crazybaby123 I just couldn’t operate with all that going on.

Can you look for another job?

It’s not much different. They can all fuck off 😂

NRTFT - Barely managed the first post but no, YANBU in my opinion. I hate it when people cold call me on Teams. I could be presenting in a meeting, focussing on a tricky piece of writing or talking to someone else at my desk. I could even, heaven forfend, be on the loo. I also have around 5-6 hours of Teams meetings a day on average so if you want some time, do me the goddamn courtesy of checking what time might work for me.

Yes, I grew up with phones, even had a fax machine in my first job. Not generational in my case.

However, I know the worst offenders at my work so now I’ve changed their calling tune to Ride of The Valkyries which makes their calls a million times more bearable!

I actually started this week funnily enough as I had a major burnout last week and had to take friday off with a migraine and wondered why I was finding it hard to cope Typing it out here it just seems mental and now I can clearly see why. Ive been doing this job for a year now.

I hate it when someone messages me first. It's wasted time having to reply. I'm not obliged to answer when someone rings, so the ringing is the notice.

Office work is information overload now. Years ago we had calls but we now have calls online meetings and emails all taking time away from doing the job. You have to switch to dnd in order to concentrate. Bring back the paper memo. ;)