Why spontaneous work calls feel… off

I’ll say it out loud: I really don’t like spontaneous phone calls, at least not in a work context.

Funny enough, I’m Gen X, I grew up on the phone. Hours-long calls, when minutes actually cost money. But those were private calls. Friends. People I actually wanted to talk to. And that part? I still enjoy it. If it’s close friends or family, I’m happy to pick up, love it, even. Completely different game.

But at work? An unexpected call often feels intrusive. It’s like walking into an office or a meeting room with the door closed, and just starting to talk. It cuts into whatever the people in that room are doing and demands instant context-switching, and I’m honestly pretty bad at that. So I’m less likely to pick up, and totally fine muting my phone if it doesn’t fit.

And knowing what it’s about beforehand? That shouldn’t be a premium feature 💀

Async first as a communication model. Calls second.

For me, the bare minimum is simple:

• send a quick message first,
• ask if it’s a good time,
• share what it’s about.

And if the answer is no, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t expect anyone to be available instantly, I’m usually not either. A clear no beats a strained “I’ll make it work” every time.

Also… there is one thing worse than calls: voice messages. I’d happily take an auto-transcript, but listening? Never. Same energy as voicemail back in the day, I never used it, always disabled it.

There’s a great bit in “extra 3 – Erklär’s dem Boomer” where Florentine Osche explains this to Christian Ehring, pretty much exactly how it feels (video in the comments, German only).

Maybe it’s not about disliking calls. Maybe it’s about respecting attention.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.