Every few months, a high-profile group-chat leak forces companies to rethink how their teams use Slack or Teams. Here are four messaging habits that protect your data, your focus, and your evenings - no scandal required.
The Office Chat Reality Check
A few days ago, the world got a fresh reminder of just how tricky work group chats can be.
And since everyone's suddenly rethinking their chat habits, I figured it was a good time to refresh our own instant messaging rules. The main goal is to avoid both accidental company data leaks and the slow torture of endless notifications and yet another work group chat that no one needed.
Me, when I accidentally end up in a work chat I definitely don’t belong in.
Our company instant messaging rules:
⌨️ No sensitive data in Slack or Teams, especially in group chats.
⌨️ Don't flood people with one-word messages.
Like
this.
And don't just drop the "hello" or "are you there?" and then wait. Get straight to the point. If your message is long, format it properly with bullet points or bold text instead of sending multiple short texts.
The bigger the group chat, the more this matters.
⌨️ Respect work hours.
No one wants a work notification popping up while they're winding down on a Wednesday night.
Pro tip: Slack, Gmail, and Outlook all let you schedule messages.
⌨️ If it's important, put it in an email.
Slack's free version deletes messages after 90 days. If it's something you'll need later, make sure it's stored somewhere permanent.
Why Chat Etiquette Pays Off
The cost of unmanaged chat is well documented. A Harvard study found that knowledge workers check email or chat platforms roughly every six minutes, generating over 80 daily interruptions and a measurable drop in focus. Industry research summarised by Brosix in 2024 estimates that knowledge workers now spend around 88% of their workweek across communication tools, and roughly 60% of employees report stress or burnout linked to communication overload. Simple, written team norms are one of the few interventions that consistently cut that noise without removing the tools themselves.
How to Roll This Out in Your Office
Get the rules in writing. Add a one-page chat etiquette doc to your onboarding pack or the company wiki so new hires inherit the norms.
Audit your channels quarterly. If a channel has been silent for 30 days, archive it. Fewer rooms means fewer @here pings.
Set an expected response window. Slack and Teams are not email - 30 minutes during work hours is plenty for non-urgent messages.
Train managers to use scheduled send. Most people send out-of-hours messages out of habit, not urgency.
Move durable decisions out of chat. Anything you need in six months should live in email, a project tracker, or a doc - not a free-tier Slack channel that auto-deletes after 90 days.
