Mobile Instant Messenger as a Hub for Mixed Work and Personal Conversation

Abstract

Because mobile instant messengers (MIM) are actively used for work, the problem of personal chats and work chats being mixed in one medium arises. For an empirical study of this problem, we collected chat log data recorded on the actual site. Based on this, we analyzed the distribution of chats according to work situation and the switching pattern between personal and work chats. We also conducted interviews to examine the strategies that MIM users use to manage this situation. The pattern of switching between work and personal conversations more than three times occurred the most. In addition, users complained about the problem and wanted to manage it by turning off alarms or delaying notification check and scanning at once. Based on this, the study pointed out that the existing countermeasures for blocking the app itself are less effective when work and personal chats are used simultaneously in an MIM. The study also argued for the need for a new management approach to selectively manage in-app behavior. In particular, this study classified six patterns of switching between work and personal conversations based on log analysis; this result can be widely applied to related problem-response strategies in the future.