That was my complaint a month into my stint at Rediff.com. Then, a friendly colleague suggested I get on to Rediff Bol. Within a week, I was chatting with an otherwise silent co-worker, discussing Zodiac signs with another, and issuing instructions to a third.

Employees across the world are conversing more via instant messengers, email, and SMS than at the water cooler and coffee machine. A new study reveals a 110 per cent growth in the usage of IMs at the workplace.

Is the increasing use of these communication tools changing the way we interact with our colleagues for the worse?

Explains Shailesh Kuber, a newseditor with a business portal, "Most employees in our office have access to instant messengers. People here are stuck to their PCs, and the office is quieter. I found the atmosphere at my previous job, which was untouched by the Net, more vibrant. There was loud chatting, peering over cubicles and lots of yelling across the room. Today, I get cagey even if a colleague walks past my desk when I am chatting on my IM. I feel as if I'm being spied upon."

Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, in her book 'Alphabet to Email: How Written English Evolved and Where It's Heading' says that a chat on an instant messenger is similar to a conversation you would have with a stranger on the street. "The more immediately you have to respond to a person, the less likely you are able to develop a serious personal exchange."

Online communication tools could enhance productivity, especially for people like Patric Paul, a consultant with Ernst and Young, who spends three out of six months on project sites. But when it comes to inter-personal relationships, it merely skims the surface. "Less personal interaction translates into less bonding. The warmth that can be achieved in person cannot be replicated online," he says.

Excessive use of email can also kill morale. Allwyn Rodrigues mentions his experience at an software technology firm, where important matters like hiring, firing, warnings, assignments, etc, were routed via email, with a CC to the boss. "It resulted in clarity and better workflow. But the problem is one cannot really reason or defend oneself online. I would prefer being addressed in person.''

Not everybody is complaining. Instant chats allow Consultant Sminkal Kacha to "flirt with three women at one time, without getting noticed in a tiny office!" He also finds it easier to break the ice with new colleagues by sending short online greetings.

People like Diksha Watwani, a graphic designer, prefer putting their point across online than in person. Being soft spoken, she feels that she can make herself heard more clearly in an online group discussion. "Sometimes, people are uncomfortable with eye contact. Besides, you can't interrupt someone in an email or use body language."

She also advises against getting too informal by overusing emoticons, which is something even IT major Wipro guards against. "Issues of too much informality in employee-to-employee communication through chat forums and bulletins could creep up, but moderators and strict company policies help avoid such situations, " says P S Narayan, in charge of various internal communication initiatives.

Siddharth Bortamuli of Tata Technologies tells a story of how informality and carelessness cost a gentleman a lot of heartburn: "This person let off steam about his job and boss in an email. Unfortunately, he clicked 'Reply To All'. The rest is history in Calcutta's advertising circles."

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