> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.leadingwithempathy.blog/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Why a Context-Free “Hey” on Slack Can Cause Workplace Anxiety - URL: https://www.leadingwithempathy.blog/just-say-it-why-the-hey-message-triggers-me-and-many-others/ - Published: 2025-06-10T07:50:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-23T11:16:14.000Z - Description: A senior leader needed a document link. Before they told me that, my ADHD brain had already inspected the entire project for imaginary disasters. - Author: Megan Tipps - Tags: Workplace Communication, Slack, ADHD at Work, Neurodiversity, Developer Culture, Remote Work, EngineeringLeadership, Workplace Anxiety, EmpatheticLeadership, Team Communication, Human-First Leadership There are few Slack messages capable of turning an ordinary workday into a full forensic investigation. Mine contains one word. “Hey.” That is it. No question. No context. Not even a suspicious little typing indicator to suggest that more information may be on its way. Just “Hey.” About a year after joining a new company, I was asked to lead one of our internal projects. It was an exciting opportunity with plenty of visibility, which is another way of saying I was very aware that people could see what I was doing and I desperately wanted to do it well. One of the C-level leaders was loosely involved in the project. They would check in occasionally and help shape the direction. They were also the person who introduced me to the particular form of workplace suspense created by a context-free greeting. Their message would appear in Slack, and I would reply almost immediately. “Hi! What’s up?” Then nothing. Sometimes the silence lasted for hours. Occasionally, the answer only arrived the following day. This did not happen once or twice. At one point, it was happening almost every week. The sensible response would have been to assume they were busy and carry on with my day. Unfortunately, my brain had already opened seventeen investigative tabs. I would check Slack again. Then I would reread our recent messages to see whether I had said something strange. I would inspect the project for mistakes, revisit decisions and mentally review every deadline I might somehow have missed. I would try to return to my actual work, but part of my attention remained attached to that unanswered “Hey” like a background process using far more memory than it had any right to. Did I do something wrong? Was the project in trouble? Had someone complained? Was I about to discover a disaster that everyone else already knew about? Eventually, the reply would arrive. They needed a link to a document. Or they had a quick question about the feature flags. That was it. No crisis. No difficult conversation. No career-ending mistake hidden somewhere in the project. I had conducted a complete internal audit because someone needed a URL. Over time, I realised that this was simply how they communicated. Once I understood the pattern, their messages became much easier to interpret. “Hey” no longer meant that something terrible might be coming. It meant they had begun typing, probably been interrupted and would eventually return when the rest of their day allowed it. I never raised it with them at the time. The power difference made that feel uncomfortable, particularly when I was still trying to prove myself on a visible project. I also knew they were incredibly busy. I could easily imagine them opening Slack, typing the greeting and being pulled into something else before they reached the actual point. They were not trying to make me anxious. I do not think they knew that anything unusual was happening on my side of the conversation. That is what makes these tiny communication habits interesting. The intention can be completely harmless while the impact is still surprisingly disruptive. For the sender, “Hey” can feel like knocking politely before entering a room. For the recipient, especially when the sender is more senior, it can feel like a knock followed by someone sprinting away before you reach the door. The silence leaves an open space, and some brains are exceptionally talented at filling open spaces. Mine rarely chooses a cheerful explanation when a catastrophic one is available. Knowing the person’s habits helps. A message from that particular leader would not affect me in the same way now because I understand what it means. When a context-free “Hey” arrives from someone else, however, my brain can still react before the sensible part of me catches up. I have spoken to other people about it, and many of them immediately understood. Their minds also begin supplying context when none has been provided, particularly when the message comes from a manager or someone senior. Apparently, I am not the only person capable of turning a greeting into an unscheduled performance review. The experience changed how I send messages. I still say hello. I am not suggesting that we remove all warmth from workplace communication and communicate exclusively through cold transactional commands. I simply put the greeting and the reason for the message together. “Hey, do you have the link to last week’s document?” “Hey, quick question about the feature flags when you have a moment.” The extra few words tell the other person what is coming and whether it needs their attention now. They can answer immediately, finish what they are doing first or let the question sit without wondering whether an unexplained disaster is waiting behind it. Context also matters because workplace messages do not arrive on neutral ground. A “Hey” from a friend feels different from a “Hey” from the person who can change the direction of your project. The sender may not be thinking about hierarchy at all, but the person receiving the message often is. This does not mean every message needs to become an essay. Please do not send three carefully structured paragraphs when you only need the document link. I am asking for less mystery, not a foreword. Small changes in communication can remove a surprising amount of unnecessary noise. We cannot predict every way another person might interpret a message, but we can give them enough information that they do not need to invent the missing part. So yes, say “Hey.” Just put the rest of the message in the message too. [ ![Buy Me A Coffee](https://cdn.buymeacoffee.com/buttons/v2/default-yellow.png) ](https://buymeacoffee.com/leadingwithempathy?ref=leadingwithempathy.blog)