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?

As someone who still works in person and still gets lots of phone calls, I can't see the problem!

That’s OK, you do you.

Those of us who don’t like calls will continue ignoring them where we can.

We all operate differently 😎

It's more about how would be best to communicate.

I'm often in a teleconf. on camera with lots of people, where I don't have to concentrate all the time, just have to be available to talk if 'my' stuff is under discussion.

In that situation, I can provide a quick answer to a written message but not actually answer or have a spoken conversation.

Automatic divert to voicemail has been a blessing.

So don’t answer. Decline the call. Ping a note to the caller and say - sorry, I’ll call you back in 5/10/15/30 mins.
Just because someone is calling you, it doesn’t mean you have to answer.

Just like a normal phone you don’t have to answer! I don’t if I’m about to go into a diarised meeting (it’s never just 2 min and I don’t like being late to a meeting).

My team ring each other multiple times throughout the day without checking first. Outside our team we’d usually message first and say “are you free for 5 mins” or something along those lines.

Depends on the closeness of the team and the culture of the organisation I guess.

I would take a teams call over a lengthy email chain any god damned day of the week.

If your dot is green, you are available.

If you're busy you can change your dot to red. If you want to focus on something you can add focus time

I don't like unexpected calls, especially when I'm in the middle of something and it interupts the flow, but that's a me problem and I can't complain about it. A message would also interrupt my flow and I'd need to mess about replying to a message and dealing with a call.

At my work if you're green it's fair game, red/busy you message first and DND you email.
I have no concept of being on green but away from my screen as you should be locking down every time you leave your desk. If you're presenting etc you automatically go to DND.
I usually check in with people before calling but if it's someone who is chocka I call and apologise if they answer 😉

With all the home working it's nice to speak on video and see people like the old days. I had a really nice chat with a colleague of never met before in another dept this morning on a random call and I feel I've made a really positive connection.

Whilst there are many benefits to WFH and I have myself (now hybrid), this illustrates the issue. People view productivity as just ‘their’ work. If someone else can’t get hold of you by walking over to your desk or a quick call - it’s not productive for the business. The business is not just you.

Yabu.
You have to do some things you don't like and get out of your comfort zone especially when you're getting paid for it!

I don't mind it but I always message first to be polite.

Who does it make it more efficient for? The business, anyone else, or is it all just about you?

I don't monitor my IMs, so if someone messaged me to ask if they could call me I just wouldn't see it. Same with emails. Both get checked and dealt with twice a day, otherwise I'd be constantly interrupted and get no work done.
So I prefer phone calls without an IM first. I just won't answer if it will interrupt my flow, I do use my teams status to show when it's ok to call me, and I have a statement on teams telling people that they need to call if it's urgent as I'm not monitoring IMs.
What annoys me are the messages that just start with 'hi Otters' then they wait for a response before writing more.
I also really dislike IMs from people I don't know, not sure what that's about tbh 🤷
I'm in a risk role so there are no quick questions for me, it's all about context, so a teams call is always better so I can ask questions.
The WFH element makes zero difference for me so it's no different to being in the office imo, just no commute. I'm still going to be active working the whole time, with a break for lunch and the necessary trips to the loo and the kettle. It's not going to be any more/less inconvenient to be interrupted than it would be if I was in the office.

OP out of interest how old are you? Younger people I work with tend to message first (but their phone etiquette is poor). I don’t message first, I see it as the equivalent of picking up the phone.

I don't mind it but can be awkward when I'm working in bed or trying to hide from my children even though my husband is there. Luckily it doesn't happen too often and people are very understanding!

Put yourself as busy if you don't want a call? If you're showing as available then I assume you're available?

Hahaaa yes of course you would??? Where do you get that no one would expect it of you? They’d have walked up to your desk, said hey Jessica what are you doing on the testing workstream this week? Repeat 30 times.

Then set yourself to away or busy? I wouldn't call someone who wasn't showing as available without messaging first!

I always check if the person I'm calling is about to attend a meeting/call (look at calendar). If they aren't and are on green then it's fair game. You can set focus time, do not disturb etc. my first question is always are you ok to chat? If not arrange to call later.

Also, you don’t have to answer by video. Sometimes I answer without video on. You also don’t always have to answer. Sometimes I don’t have time, and I don’t. This is… life?

I would also say that I don't put my camera on during unscheduled teams call, only for pre arranged meetings. A teams call is just a phone call for me, and with old school desk phones there's be no expectation to see the other person.

People are saying they routinely message before calling. That’s duplication.

A message that has content , like you mention, that’s different. You’re getting to the point.

honestly , people are drowning in unnecessary comms, we really need to wake up as a Society and recognise this.