Microsoft is working on a new feature for the Teams collaboration platform that should help users isolate only the most important information.
According to a new article in the company's product roadmap, Microsoft Teams will soon offer users tighter control over notifications from their activity sources.
“Users will be able to change the type of notification that appears in the activity feed. Right-click on the source item and you will be able to enable / disable all reactions and select the applications you want to receive notifications from, ”Microsoft explained.
The new feature is currently in development but is expected to be previewed later this month and activated for all users in December.
Microsoft team notifications
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about the effects of telecommuting on company culture and mental health.
Some remote workers said they felt pressure to be available outside of traditional hours, making it difficult to find an effective work-life balance.
Others, meanwhile, have been buried in a storm of notifications following the switch to digital forms of communication (be it via email, text chat, or video conferencing). And this problem is only compounded by the growing number of third-party integrations for platforms like Teams.
By allowing users to specify the types of alerts they receive, the latest Teams update should help alleviate (if not eliminate) the types of problems that have arisen due to the new reliance on digital collaboration tools and productivity software. online.
Notification customization will also be synergized with another feature also in development, which will allow Teams users to turn off notifications during meetings. Based on a separate entry in the roadmap, users will be able to turn off notifications during all meetings or per meeting.
Clearly, Microsoft is aware of the detrimental effects of notification storms on productivity and well-being. And these latest Teams updates should at least help fix the problem.