The promise and peril of parallel chat in video meetings for work

Abstract

We report the opportunities and challenges of parallel chat in workrelated video meetings, drawing on a study of Microsoft employees' remote meeting experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.We find that parallel chat allows groups to communicate flexibly without interrupting the main conversation, coordinate action around shared resources, and also improves inclusivity. On the other hand, parallel chat can also be distracting, overwhelming, and cause information asymmetries.Further, we find that whether an individual views parallel chat as a net positive in meetings is subject to the complex interactions between meeting type, personal habits, and intentional group practices. We suggest opportunities for tools and practices to capitalise on the strengths of parallel chat and mitigate its weaknesses.

"Seeing the Faces Is So Important" -- Experiences From Online Team Meetings on Commercial Virtual Reality Platforms

“…Although Sarkar et al (2021) found parallel chatting in video calls distracting and overwhelming for some users, they also identified valuable benefits from it that resonate with our participants' responses. More research needs to be done on how to integrate discreet side communication in VR.…”

Bridging Social Distance During Social Distancing: Exploring Social Talk and Remote Collegiality in Video Conferencing

“…Although the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the visibility of WFH practices, with a recent wave of associated publications, the focus is on productivity Sarkar et al, 2021), and essentially examines remote meetings rather than socializing remotely. Past work (Stray et al, 2019) has shown that team tools such as Slack may provide opportunities for social talk alongside task-based information exchange in remote teams.…”

“…Past work (Stray et al, 2019) has shown that team tools such as Slack may provide opportunities for social talk alongside task-based information exchange in remote teams. In addition to teams leveraging features such as parallel chat in VC to engage in social conversations (Sarkar et al, 2021), communication however often remains problem-focused in both remote and in-person workplace environments (Calefato et al, 2020;Stray et al, 2019). With increased communication on tools such as Microsoft Teams during the pandemic (Spataro, 2020), understanding ecosystems that support social conversations become evermore important, as the frequency of communication has increased, and will likely continue, as remote work becomes more embedded in work practices.…”

Traces of Time through Space

“…Sarkar et. al [43] looked closely at the parallel chat feature within Microsoft Teams. They saw that parallel chat is helpful for participation without interrupting the primary conversation, is useful for coordinating actions (for example, via sharing links), and promoted social connection despite the online settings.…”