Hey! Have you heard of ‘hey hanging’?

Has a colleague ever messaged you, “Hey,” without added context? Pretty anxiety-inducing, huh?

Well, the act of sending a short greeting via text without any context has a name, “hey hanging,” and according to Jenni Bedell, HR consulting practice leader at One Digital, it can create anxiety for the recipient.

Anxiety disorders affect over 300 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Bedell shared with HR Brew why workers might hey hang, and how people pros can help keep it at bay.

Why it’s happening. Bedell told HR Brew that managers may see hey hanging as a replacement for office small talk before getting down to business.

But these messages can cause anxiety because, without context, an employee’s mind may jump to the worst-case scenario, she said.

“If it comes from a leader or a supervisor, just saying, ‘Hello,’ like…Am I in trouble?” she said. “What goes behind that hello? It can really cause the employee to feel like, ‘Oh, gosh, what’s next?’”

With digital communication, Bedell said, it’s often better to say something with more context, like, “Hi…Hope you’re having a great day…How are you doing on XYZ report?’”

What can HR do? Bedell suggested that HR set up communication best practices for employees, and encourage leaders to model them.

“An example of that could be something like, ‘In messaging with other teammates, please make sure that you’re providing context to what [you] need,’” she said. “Not only are we eliminating that unknown or potential anxiety that just sending a message could cause, but we’re also creating more efficiencies.”

When employees spend less time panicking about a message, they’re able to spend more time doing their best work, Bedell added.