"Going directly to the person is almost always the best thing to do," Amy Colbert, professor at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, told Business Insider.
"The norms around electronic communication are always shifting because of our increasing use of it," Colbert said, so it's better to address issues upfront and in the old-fashioned way.
Nope, you can't get away with ghosting your boss or coworker. The best way to cut down on Slack messages is to leave your desk, walk over, and talk to them.
If it's a boss or coworker who pings you with tasks throughout the day, you can propose a weekly or daily meeting, said assistant professor Atul Teckchandani, who teaches management at California State University, Fullerton's Mihaylo College of Business and Economics.
"You can pose an alternative approach that hopefully will nudge them away from sending you repeated direct messages all the time," Teckchandani told Business Insider.
Send your Slack-obsessed boss or employee something like this: "I want to stay connected with what's going on in the office, but I'm personally not able to keep up with a lot of direct messages while focusing on work. When would be a good time to check in for a few minutes each day to set the schedule?"
As for a work friend, you can bring up the topic the next time you grab coffee or lunch. "I love talking to you, but I'm not able to concentrate on my work when we're chatting so much. Why don't we schedule lunch or drinks after work one a day week to catch up?"