Heya all. In my previous place of employment, IM was mandatory. It actually proved a great source of teambuilding and communication. Several of us had workplaces at home, and therefore we used the IM as a cost efficient substitute for the Phone. Our IM communication helped us share knowledge, and make workflow faster. Several of our work situations made a software handover necesarry, several times a day. for this task IM was a godsend. IM is first and foremost a social tool, but the tool provides a possibility for socializing, at the same time while maintaining your work.