Most popular workplace instant message apps found

Skype, Facebook and Lync are the most popular instant messaging apps in the workplace, a recent survey found.

These instant messaging softwares are becoming increasingly popular in the workplace and are changing the way employees traditionally connect with their colleagues.

Technology analysts ReportLinker conducted a survey to answer three questions:

• in which sector do people use instant messaging softwares the most?
• what are the most popular ones and why?
• do employees trust their privacy settings?

Key findings show that:

• only 19 per cent of people prefer face-to-face communication when discussing something at work
• fifty per cent prefer emails
• forty-three of people use instant messaging softwares in their company,including 71 per cent who work in the tech industry.
• the most used software is Skype (29 per cent) , followed by Facebook Messenger (22 per cent), Lync 19 (per cent) and Slack (5 per cent).

Users believe that the instant messaging apps promote better collaboration:

• among heavy users, 45 per cent say they’re more productive with instant messaging
• efficiency (22 per cent) and team collaboration (14 per cent) are the biggest drivers of instant messaging adoption
• fourteen per cent say it helps them reduce the volume of emails, while 12% per cent liked the flexibility and 10 per cent said the tools were easy to use.
• the main drawback is the pressure to respond immediately, cited by 24 per cent of respondents.

Despite the popularity of instant messaging software, the majority of people (57 per cent) believe there’s no guarantee workplace conversations will remain private on such tools.