Quote:
Employers seeking to decrease interruptions may want to have their workers use instant messaging software, a new study suggests. A recent study by researchers at Ohio State University and University of California, Irvine found that workers who used instant messaging on the job reported less interruption than colleagues who did not.
The study challenges the widespread belief that instant messaging leads to an increase in disruption. Some researchers have speculated that workers would use instant messaging in addition to the phone and e-mail, leading to increased interruption and reduced productivity.
Instead, research showed that instant messaging was often used as a substitute for other, more disruptive forms of communication such as the telephone, e-mail, and face-to-face conversations.
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Ahhh, the sweet smell of obviousness finally sinking in to the community at large. My employer recently set up an instant messaging service (internal only, completely proprietary rather than using AIM or MSN) and it makes life so much easier.
I hate talking on the phone when a quick IM blast will do way better, and why get up and walk to the opposite end of the building to see if someone is at their office?
Long live IM.