The answer is...it's both. Teams are made of humans and humans are inherently social creatures. Healthy, high-functioning teams do not just speak in work talk and minimally worded responses which contain all relevant information needed to complete a given task and that's a GOOD thing! Enter the benefits of business chat apps. They offer the ability to catch up with your team members without solely dedicating the time to do so. With chat, you can update someone on your weekend while getting updates on the status of an initiative all during the time it takes for the coffee machine to run. 
The Distraction
People are going to do personal things on company time, there is no way around it. Chat will give them an outlet to do so privately which may be concerning to some managers since it is unclear if an employee is having a personal conversation or chatting about work. The truth is a chat app doesn't move the needle on this type of behavior, the same amount of personal conversation will occur with or without an office chat option. What it does allow is these conversations to occur more concisely and simultaneously so, they can be completed quicker they would have otherwise.
The Asset
There are numerous benefits to a business messaging tool in both centralized and decentralized professional settings but I want to focus on the ever-changing nature of time-sensitive information. In the medical setting, there are a handful of topics that are critical to daily operation:
- Staff Scheduling
- Patient Scheduling
- Visit Status
- Office Announcements
- File Sharing
If any of the items on this list look familiar then it should be clear how getting updates quickly and accurately are important to a successful day in the office.
Not everything important is needed right away. Another benefit of chat is that it can also be used asynchronously meaning that messages can be sent without both users being online at the same time. Without chat, these types of messages are often lost in a pile of emails, abandoned in an unchecked voicemail, or simply forgotten in the pace of the day.
Office chat can be an important tool that increases the connectivity of a team, encouraging team members to update one another quickly and allowing them to develop their interpersonal connections. It helps connect team members that are in the field with those based out of the office. It can help team members manage simultaneous conversations across channels. As offices incorporate more tech into daily workflows, it's also an inevitability.
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