The changes in today’s workspace seem never-ending. One of the biggest changes in some of the most forward-facing companies involve our email inbox.
Collaboration today is more virtual than it’s been in the past. Even among people who are not working remotely, there’s an increase in the use of tools like Teams, Slack, and Zoom. We rely more on tools like these today and less frequently on email. Slack has shared that they hope to replace email and others have expressed that Teams may share that philosophy. We store files in collaboration tools, have individual rooms and teams and channels, our messaging history is maintained for as long as we like, and it’s quick and searchable.
So, what’s happening to our inboxes?
Increasingly our inboxes are becoming a collection of notifications. Missed Teams activities, mentions (personal, channels, and teams), chats, followed channels, status notifications instead of the main place where business communications take place. To be sure, our mailboxes aren’t going away anytime soon, but the indications are there that say a change is in the wind.