Instant messages with nothing more than a quick greeting—known as ‘hey hanging’—spark office anxiety

  • Instant messages with just a greeting cause anxiety in the workplace
  • The phenomenon is known as ‘hey hanging’
  • Recipients fear the worst when receiving a simple ‘hey’
  • The brain jumps to worst-case scenarios
  • Workers feel pressure to respond quickly in online conversations
  • Employees spend 90% of their workweek communicating
  • Miscommunication is common in instant messaging
  • There is a lack of clear etiquette in workplace instant messaging
  • Some people find ‘hey hanging’ rude and annoying
  • It’s important to communicate how certain messages make you feel

Harrison Luongtran’s three-letter missives strike fear into the hearts of his colleagues at the Lucky Generals ad agency in New York. Hey. Yes, what? “My mind goes to the worst places,” says Atheina Hasbani, a 31-year-old account director who works with Luongtran, a creative director. There is no other information in the Slack instant message as she waits for the proverbial other shoe to drop. “It’s like, ‘Am I fired? Am I in trouble? Is your mom OK?’” The hey-and-wait instant-message phenomenon comes in other iterations: ‘hi,’ ‘hi there,” “hi-hi,” “hiya” and “hey-o!” But the effect is the same. While the quick-drop salutation is often innocuous, it sends recipients into a tizzy, fearing the worst. It also has a name: Hey hanging. The “hey” might arrive on Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat, or over text. Bryan Robinson, a psychotherapist and author of a book on hybrid work, says the word can engage a fight-or-flight response. “The brain has to know ‘What’s going to happen?’ for survival,” he says, and it often jumps to the worst-case scenario. “Our minds go, ‘I’m in hot water.’” As workers feel pressure to do more at a faster clip, employees and bosses expect quick answers from colleagues, even when they’re not together. That dynamic has supercharged real-time conversations online. Instant messaging is “the Red Bull of communication,” says Tracy Brady, senior vice president of communications for a cannabis company. “It’s that back and forth, you and me, right now, how do I get you to pay attention.” Employees spend nearly 90% of their workweek communicating across multiple channels, according to a 2023 Harris Poll survey of more than 1,200 workers and executives. One in four said they experience miscommunication multiple times a day, according to the report, which was conducted on behalf of proofreading software company Grammarly. Corporate communicators say part of the problem is that instant-messaging forums at work are still relatively new. Microsoft says its heaviest users now send and receive about 150 chats a day—gaining on the more than 250 emails a day they receive. Slack says 700 million messages are now sent across its channels each day. Discord, which got its start in the gaming community, is increasingly used among friend groups at work. Unlike emails, which generally are longer and don’t require an immediate response, instant messaging carries the weight of a real-time back and forth. And while workers have fine-tuned their email protocol—avoid all-caps, strange fonts and unnecessary reply-alls—workplace instant-messaging is still the Wild West. When colleagues communicate in a way that feels irksome, it’s important to let them know how it’s making you feel, says Constance Hadley, a professor of management and organizations at Boston University Questrom School of Business. “You can say: I was in the middle of deep work when you pinged me ‘hey,’” she says. “Even if ‘hey’ is your love language, other people are not receiving it that way.”

Factuality Level: 2
Factuality Justification: The article is focused on a very specific and trivial topic – the use of ‘hey’ in instant messaging causing anxiety among colleagues. It lacks depth and relevance to broader issues. The content is mostly anecdotal and lacks substantial evidence or research to support its claims. The article also contains a lot of personal opinions and experiences presented as facts.
Noise Level: 2
Noise Justification: The article focuses on the phenomenon of ‘hey hanging’ in workplace communication, providing examples and perspectives from different individuals. It does not contain irrelevant or misleading information, and it stays on topic throughout. However, the article lacks depth and does not provide a thoughtful analysis or actionable insights, resulting in a lower overall rating.
Financial Relevance: No
Financial Markets Impacted: No
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: No
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: No
Rating Justification: The article does not pertain to financial topics and does not describe any extreme events.
Public Companies: Microsoft (MSFT), Slack (WORK), Google (GOOGL), Autodesk (ADSK)
Private Companies: Lucky Generals,Grammarly
Key People: Harrison Luongtran (Creative Director), Atheina Hasbani (Account Director), Bryan Robinson (Psychotherapist and Author), Tracy Brady (Senior Vice President of Communications), Fiana Tulip (Brand Strategist and Marketing Consultant), Robyn Jackson Malone (Owner of Public Relations Agency), Kate Buchanan (Workforce Innovation Initiatives Leader), Madison Kanna (Senior Software Engineer), Constance Hadley (Professor of Management and Organizations), Anne Marie Chaker (Author)

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