The new office faux pas arrives quietly, mid-afternoon, between meetings, in a chat window you weren’t planning to open. There’s no subject line, no emoji, no helpful context — just a single word blinking back at you: “hey.”
As reported by Huffington Post: Three letters. One syllable. In modern office life, few things spike cortisol levels faster than opening Slack and encountering a lone, context-free greeting.
Not everyone who sends a “hey” means harm. Some people genuinely believe it’s polite to warm up a conversation before getting to the point. Unfortunately, in digital workspaces, that politeness can feel like a setup, according to the article.
“All communication at work via email or Slack should have a clear agenda and purpose,” said Pattie Ehsaei, a senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions lending at a major bank. A simple “hey,” she told a reporter, leaves the receiver confused and unsure how to respond.
Slack, after all, is asynchronous. Messages linger. Minds wander. Worst-case scenarios bloom.
The solution is mercifully simple: lead with the ask. Add context. Say why you’re there.
Because in the modern workplace, “hey” isn’t small talk. It’s suspense.