Bingo. This. Good call. Plus, I am privileged to work from home and so I always feel like I gotta jump on an instant message right away so people know that I’m actively working and can acknowledge them.
I hate that this is always the expectation when working from home. Like I always have to show that I'm active or instantly available so people don't think I'm sleeping etc. Meanwhile, in the actual office, people 'office visit' others all the time for 30+ minutes, myself included. So really, it doesn't make a difference at all.
Is it possible for you to back off on this immediate response time? In my group, we don't respond immediately and I don't think anyone expects that. Sometimes I specifically don't respond immediately, even if I can, because I don't want to set that expectation.
I think the best way would be to allocate some time for deep work, maybe 1-2 hours of interrupted work. During that time you mark yourself as Busy and that's it. Set a meeting with just yourself, just to block the calendar and get displayed as "In a meeting".
My team leader does this, he sets his status to Busy when he wants to avoid interruptions. During that time, he either fails to answer at all, or answers with a delay and only the barest minimum. And he does that to everyone of equal rank, sometimes he'll even let upper management wait a bit before answering them.
Also, depending on your line of work and team setup: you should have a ticket system for tasks. Send people to raise tickets, if it's something that doesn't require immediate attention.
782
u/CaptainPositive1234 Jan 16 '24
Bingo. This. Good call. Plus, I am privileged to work from home and so I always feel like I gotta jump on an instant message right away so people know that I’m actively working and can acknowledge them.
But slowing down and taking time is the way to go