So you phoned me out of the blue and expected me to pick up your call?

OK, Boomer.

We don’t live by many rules here at 2OV (other than extolling the virtues of extended holidays), but we’re generally all on the same side with regards phone calls.

Why hassle somebody with a call when a simple WhatsApp call or email will do? We’re even OK with voice notes now (less than a minute, where possible), as long as it cuts out the phone call.

It’s basically the Millennial way, and there’s a great deal of sense to it, especially when it comes to workplace effectiveness.

Forbes breaks it down as follows.

Phone calls waste more time than they save

A 15 minute phone call to convey two lines of information is a waste of time. Not only because there was a much more efficient way to share it, but also because the time you have to spend preparing for it, making small talk, and then getting back into the flow of your workday ends up being a huge buzzkill.

Email threads are better for organisation

Instead of trusting that each individual is taking notes and trying to keep track of who was assigned what, starting email threads including all necessary participants makes organization, and documentation, so much easier. If you are giving someone particular instructions, they can refer back to the message in their inbox, instead of having to call you… again.

Phone calls do not improve connection

If your preference for a phone call is that you like to hear another person’s voice and foster a connection as opposed to just an avatar next to an email address, this is not the way to do it. Phone calls are generally buffered with unnecessary and sometimes awkward small talk. If connection is your goal, schedule a coffee, or lunch meeting. Not only does this create an opportunity to interact face-to-face, it gives participants time to anticipate and plan for it.

Those last few words touch on an important point, because phone calls often feel like an ambush. It’s harder to say no to things on the phone, and when calls come in out of the blue, you never know what awaits you on the other side.

A mate calling for a catch-up can also just drop a WhatsApp, ask if you’re free to chew the fat for 10 minutes, and you’re good to go. Messages allow people to respond in their own time, whereas calls make people respond on your time, which feels inconsiderate.

Plus, a large percentage of the calls I get now are unsolicited (even though I use Truecaller), with somebody trying to sell me something. Out of courtesy, and acknowledgement that they too hate themselves for harassing strangers, I answer, decline the offer, wish them a nice day and hang up, but the train of thought I was on has long since left the station.

(Don’t even get me started on people who borrow phone chargers without asking.)

According to the results of a survey conducted late last year by US gadget retail site BankMyCell, who talked to more than 1 200 respondents in the US aged between 22 and 37 years old, some trends for ignoring calls emerged.

Below from BGR:

Top of the list as far as reasons why millennials say they don’t like to talk on the phone? It’s “too time-consuming.”

Said another way, they apparently don’t like the fact that phone calls mean you have to go through the niceties of verbal conversation. Making small talk. Greeting and saying goodbye. All the things you can avoid, of course, with something like a quick text.

To the graph we go:

A number of those resonate.

Ultimately, what’s considered polite, professional etiquette changes over time, and as Millennials climb through the ranks, perhaps we’ll see a proper shift on the phone call front.

If you’re the type who loves to ring your mates, and you often don’t get an answer but do get a WhatsApp message 15 minutes later, it might be time to listen.

Sorry, gotta go – some moron is phoning me out of the blue.

[sources:forbes&bgr]