The character, functions, and styles of instant messaging in the workplace

TLDR

Instant Messaging use in workplaces has been largely understood through self‑report studies. The study aimed to identify distinct styles of workplace IM use. The authors logged thousands of workplace IM conversations and analyzed them to characterize usage patterns, distinguishing heavy users who engage in fast‑paced, threaded discussions from light users who coordinate via fewer, slower conversations. Workplace IM is primarily used for complex work discussions, with only 28 % of conversations being simple and 31 % for scheduling, and users rarely switch to other media when conversations become complex; the study identified two distinct usage styles—heavy users engage in fast‑paced, threaded discussions, while light users coordinate via fewer, slower conversations.

Abstract

Current perceptions of Instant Messaging (IM) use are based primarily on self-report studies. We logged thousands of (mostly) workplace IM conversations and evaluated their conversational characteristics and functions. Contrary to prior research, we found that the primary use of workplace IM was for complex work discussions. Only 28% of conversations were simple, single-purpose interactions and only 31% were about scheduling or coordination. Moreover, people rarely switched from IM to another medium when the conversation got complex. We found evidence of two distinct styles of use. Heavy IM users and frequent IM partners mainly used it to work together: to discuss a broad range of topics via many fast-paced interactions per day, each with many short turns and much threading and multitasking. Light users and infrequent pairs mainly used IM to coordinate: for scheduling, via fewer conversations per day that were shorter, slower-paced with less threading and multitasking.