JPMorgan Chase, as part of its cost-cutting campaign, offered to remove voicemail from thousands of employees who do not interact with clients. The offer was accepted by 65% of employees, which resulted in more than $3 million annually in savings. Executives say that the decision is overdue, pointing out that most workers–particularly those under 40–have long relied on e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, or social media to reach others on the job and in their daily lives. Over the past decade, these technologies have ushered in a new era of communication–redefining standards of etiquette, introducing new tensions between generations, and prompting concerns that the timbre of our voices will soon be drowned out by the click-clack of keyboards.
JPMorgan’s decision to end voicemail is just the latest sign that the service’s days may be numbered. Only 6% of employees opted to keep voicemail last year when Coca-Cola did the same. Citigroup and Bank of America are looking at following the example of Coca-Cola. Vonage reported in 2012 that voicemail messages were 8% less common than the previous year, and 14% fewer people were able to retrieve their messages. Michael Schlage, a Harvard Business Review author, urged companies to get rid of voicemail. He said that voicemail has lost its essentiality and is now as irrelevant and clunky as Microsoft DOS or carbon paper.
Young people are leading the exodus, as with many declining technologies. A Gallup poll in 2014 confirmed a fact that text messages are now the preferred method of communication for Millennials. 68% of 18-to 29-year olds said they had texted “a lot” in the day before. This drops to 47% among 30-to 49-yearolds and 26% among 50 to 64-yearolds. Older Nielsen data show that the average monthly voice minutes consumed by 18-to-34-year-olds has dropped from 1,200 in 2008, to 900 in 2010. The average monthly texting rate among 18-to-24-year-olds has more than doubled in this time period, rising from 600 to more than 1,400 texts per month to nearly 1,200.
Why do Millennials avoid calling? Many Millennials view the phone as too intrusive or even presumptuous. According to one young worker, calling someone without e-mailing first can make you seem like you are prioritizing your own needs over others. Millennials who are task-oriented want to know what to accomplish; it can be difficult to read emotions. They will choose the communication method that best suits their needs. This preference is also reflected in the way they communicate. According to one employer, Millennial workers are more focused on the task at hand and avoid small talk.
Despite its popularity, texting has not been without its problems. Messages are so condensed that they often fail to convey the sender’s intended meaning and tone, causing misunderstandings–and that’s not even factoring in the confusion of “autocorrect fails.” To eliminate these misunderstandings, messaging apps like Viber and Line have even experimented with more visually-based texting that’s virtually impossible to misinterpret.
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To avoid difficult face-to–face conversations, the buffer of texting can also be used. The pins were given to high school students at a Boston Public Health Commission etiquette seminar. They read “Face it, Don’t Face It.” However, Millennials and Xers are not much better. In a 2013 survey 59% of those aged 21 to 50 said they would or might end a casual relationship via text. 24% would also consider doing the same. These figures would make Emily Post swoon in her grave.
Professions that depend on the gift for gab face additional problems with texting. For example, personal rapport is crucial for successful sales pitches. This has led many firms to hire consultants to make Millennial staffers more comfortable using the phone. Companies are using Big Data to change their sales methods: With Salesforce CRM, companies can create comprehensive customer profiles that allow them to identify which customers to call and which to e-mail.
Traditional conversation is not dead, it’s true. Each new communication technology has raised similar concerns over the past century. And through all of it, people have not stopped yakking. Contrary to popular perceptions that Millennials are always glued to their smartphones, a Bentley University study revealed that 51% of 18-to-34-year-old workers prefer to talk to colleagues face-to-face, far more than the 19% and 14% who prefer e mail or text.
However, the new communication preferences of today have created a perception gap among generations. Parents might assume that their child is deliberately ignoring them, even though he or she will respond to them in seconds or less to text messages. Teens may not listen to voicemails or return calls within days. According to The Washington Post, a Millennial said that her mother told her to text rather than call when she asked for it. What do you prefer to hear from me? You don’t like to hear from me?'” A Boomer boss might get annoyed by a Millennial employee sending him a text message.
Others are concerned about the possible consequences of today’s texting-friendly culture, which many Homelanders have been exposed to since birth. Researchers speculate that this immersion could reduce Homelanders’ ability understand and empathize with nonverbal cues. However, optimists argue that it will encourage closer personal bonds because digital messaging tends not to replace face-to-face time.
It’s safe for us to assume that voicemail will not be used to record the next generation’s conversations. Voicemail is the only form of communication that observers seem reluctant to discard. NPR asked a 26-year old about voicemail’s future role. He tried to be optimistic. He said that Voicemail might become something special and exciting. “Like a Telegram once was.”