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Instand Messaging and Workplace Efficiency

INSTANT MESSAGING AND WORKPLACE EFFICIENCY

Once the purview of teenagers staying up late into the night to converse with their friends, instant messaging has found its way into the workplace. Like e-mail, the fax and the telephone, instant messaging is hailed by supporters as bringing better communication to the workplace, and criticized by detractors as being disruptive and encouraging employees to engage in personal activities on company time. Also like previous communications devices, the truth is probably somewhere between those two extremes. This research considers the implementation of instant messaging in the workplace, and its affect on workplace efficiency.

Instant messaging allows typed communication from one computer to another in real-time. Most often used by two individuals, it is also possible to invite others into the conversation. Because the communication takes place in real time, users must be aware of who else is online at any point in time; this takes place through the use of "buddy lists" that track the online presence--or absence--of users. It is also possible to set up away messages so that others know when a user is active. Multiple instant message windows can be open at once so that one individual can carry on several conversations at the same time. Several providers, including America Online, make instant messaging software available at no charge, and users can easily download software in the workplace (Harmon C1).

Because instant messages rely on typing and because young people were its early adopters, slang and acronyms have emerged that save time and keystrokes. To the uninitiated, these can seem a foreign language. "POS" originally meant "parent over shoulder," but is now used when a supervisor is near. Other common abbreviations that are used in the business world are "brb" for "be right back" and "g2g" for "got to go". Instant messages have emerged as a far more in

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Instand Messaging and Workplace Efficiency. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:51, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687614.html