Why are we more connected, yet many feel disconnected?
There is no doubt that the COVID-19-induced recession would have been far worse had it not been for technology. Our ability to communicate and collaborate in real-time allowed millions of workers to stay at home and remain productive. Video technology enabled people to connect socially, even though they were apart. We may never know the extent to which communication technology helps to avoid mental health issues caused by enforced isolation.
However, there is a dark side of technology, too. It is rarely discussed or considered. The negative consequences of technology, such as addiction, privacy violations, and a deterioration in social interactions, pose significant challenges. Yet organisations must answer the big question that this dark side poses. Is technology destroying communication in the workplace? Moreover, how can you ensure it doesn’t?
The Shift to Digital Communication
The shift to digital communication has revolutionised the way we interact in the workplace. With the rise of communication technologies, digital communication has become the norm, often overshadowing face-to-face communication. This transformation brings undeniable advantages, such as increased convenience and accessibility. Employees can now connect with colleagues across the globe in an instant, breaking down geographical barriers and fostering a more inclusive work environment.
However, this shift also comes with significant negative impacts. One of the most profound drawbacks is the absence of nonverbal cues. In face-to-face communication, body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice play crucial roles in conveying messages accurately. Without these cues, digital communication can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. A simple email or instant message can be read in multiple ways, often leading to confusion and sometimes conflict. As we continue to embrace the digital world, it’s essential to recognise and address these challenges to maintain effective communication in the workplace.
Why communication is important in the workplace
Let’s first look at why effective communication is so important in the workplace.
Good communication is crucial to sharing information
If communication skills are not utilised effectively, your people won’t know what they are doing or why they are doing it. The collaboration will be crushed. Innovation will grind to a halt. Obvious, isn’t it? Yet, Dynamic Signal found that almost three quarters of employees feel that they are missing out on company information and news.
Communication shapes attitudes
The better informed you are, the better your attitude is likely to be. Misinformed – or uninformed – employees are distrustful of their employer, which can negatively impact human relationships within the workplace. They spread gossip and increase resistance to change. Lexicon found that 80% of Americans say that communication with employees is key to developing trust with their employees.
Good communication motivates employees
Clarity of purpose engages employees in vision and mission and motivates them to go the extra mile. According to a survey by JobsInME, 85% of employees said they’re most motivated when management offers regular updates on company news. Equally damaging, Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report found that only 23% of executives say their companies are excellent at aligning employees’ goals with their organisation’s purpose.
Communication is critical to the governance of behavior
Employees must comply with an organisation’s policies and procedures. Without these communicated effectively, an organisation risks spiraling into pseudo-anarchism – especially the flatter hierarchies prevalent in today’s organisational structures. The negative effects of ineffective communication, such as diminished social skills and empathy, can exacerbate these issues. Salesforce found that 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures.
Communication is key to employees working effectively
Clear and concise instructions enable employees to carry out tasks efficiently. Miscommunication leads to tasks taking longer to do and being done below the standards expected. Yet an Interact Survey reported in the Harvard Business Review found that 57% of employees report not being given clear directions, and 69% of managers are not comfortable communicating with the employees in general.
Get your communication strategy right, and your organisation will benefit from:
- Fewer misunderstandings
- Improved collaboration
- Higher staff morale and motivation
- More highly engaged employees
- Lower employee turnover
- Improved productivity
- Better results
The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication
Despite the convenience of digital communication, face-to-face communication remains essential for building strong relationships and conveying emotions effectively. When we interact in person, we can pick up on nonverbal cues such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. These cues provide valuable context that helps us understand the other person’s emotions and intentions more accurately.
Face-to-face communication also plays a critical role in conflict resolution and negotiation. In-person interactions allow us to read each other’s nonverbal signals and respond appropriately, facilitating more effective and empathetic communication. This level of understanding is often lost in digital communication, where messages can be easily misconstrued. By prioritising face-to-face interactions, organisations can foster a more connected and emotionally intelligent workforce.
The communication journey seen through technological change
Once upon a time, many centuries ago, all communication was verbal and face-to-face. Then humans learned to write, and within just a few centuries we were able to send letters oversea and thousands of miles away. With luck, we would receive news within a couple of weeks. Today we talk instantly, in real time, via video link.
Business has followed a similar path. First, we had memos. Along came the telephone. Then faxes. Emails soon followed – and have stuck. As well as email communication, employees use instant messengers, video conferencing technology, and project management tools that integrate with all your other technology. The world of work has never had such ability to communicate internally and externally.
We are super connected. You only need to look at a few email statistics to see just how connected we are:
- 293.6 billion emails were processed every day in 2019
- There are 3.9 billion email users worldwide, with more than 5.5 billion active email accounts
- The average office worker receives 121 emails per day
- In 2019, there are nearly 4 billion email users worldwide
Mobile technology has further transformed modern communication, impacting social interactions and community dynamics. While it offers new forms of community, it also raises concerns about isolation.
And yet, despite all this connectivity, the stats we shared earlier indicate that our workplace communication is failing.
What’s going wrong?
Technology has revolutionised the way we do business and the way we communicate in the workplace. But not all these changes have been positive.
Greater connectivity means that many people never switch off from work. This can cause stress in both personal and professional lives, and causes damaging work/life balance issues that eventually affect a person’s ability to do their work effectively. Additionally, the negative impact of technology on communication skills is evident. Reduced eye contact, avoidance of in-person conversations, and a lack of emotional depth in virtual interactions collectively contribute to weakened social connections and communication skills. Here are five more ways in which the use of technology can damage communication in the workplace.
1. Technology dehumanises communication
It is easier for people to take on false personas when they are not communicating face-to-face, highlighting the dehumanising effects of technology on communication. Emailing, texting and instant messaging give the user a certain amount of anonymity, and behaviors can change. This is especially recognisable with social media use.
2. Misconstrued messages
80% of message is conveyed by nonverbal communication (body language). Even when we are not sure of the meaning of the words used, it is usually possible to understand the message by contextualising with nonverbal communication and the verbalised words around it.
In addition, when communicating in writing – especially when we are unsure of our audience – it is more likely that we will write things that are misunderstood culturally. This is becoming more common within remote and geographically dispersed teams. There are nuances in how people are addressed and how tone is conveyed. Even among English speaking countries, differences in language can cause confusion (in England, for example, chips are crisps, and fries are chips).
3. Communication by technology can be thoughtless
Emails, instant messages, and other communications can be easily forwarded. A difficult message is not reframed for the individual or team to who it is sent. Such messages can damage trust and create emotional responses that are out of character from the recipient.
4. Technology has eliminated privacy
What is done cannot be undone. An email, video or message on a project management application is there to be retrieved when needed. An emotional response via email may receive a wider audience than intended. No longer are there quiet conversations between conflicted parties which lead to mutual understanding with privacy ensured.
5. Communication technology can cause social isolation
Organisations are utilising internal social networks more extensively. These enable connectivity and sharing of information, best practices, and ‘outside work’ topics. Connected people collaborate better, right?
Being connected by technology does not give the same warm feeling as being connected personally. The connections are shallower and less meaningful. Despite the super connectivity today, a study by the Cigna Health Insurance Company found that loneliness among Americans is at epidemic proportions. We are only just starting to understand the positive and negative effects of the social connection that technology affords us. While it facilitates connections across distances, it also leads to reduced emotional depth and face-to-face interactions. But we don’t need studies to tell us what so many of us already know. The COVID-19 lockdown has brought home our basic human need to be with other people.
The Impact on Teamwork and Collaboration
The shift to digital communication has significantly impacted teamwork and collaboration in the workplace. On one hand, digital communication tools like instant messaging, video conferencing, and project management software have made it easier for teams to collaborate, regardless of their physical location. These tools enable real-time communication and information sharing, which can enhance productivity and innovation.
However, the reliance on digital communication can also lead to challenges. Without face-to-face interactions, team members may miss out on important nonverbal cues, leading to misunderstandings and conflicts. The lack of physical presence can also result in a sense of detachment, reducing accountability and responsibility among team members. When individuals are not physically present, they may feel less invested in the project, which can negatively impact team cohesion and overall performance.
To mitigate these issues, it’s crucial for organisations to strike a balance between digital and face-to-face communication. Encouraging regular in-person meetings and fostering a culture of open communication can help teams maintain strong connections and work more effectively together.
Enhancing the positives of technology and eliminating the negatives
Advancing technology is enabling organisations to hire the best talent no matter where it is located. It is empowering greater collaboration than we ever thought possible. People can now work together, on a single connected network in real time. Without the communication technology that we have, the economic damage caused by COVID-19 would have been many times greater.
However, organisations must also understand that technology in communication can have damaging effects. Used without high regard to the message being conveyed and the recipient for which it is intended, that message can be misinterpreted and therefore damaging to individuals, teams, and even the organisation.
Over-reliance on technology can lead to people feeling isolated, and this can lead to mental health issues that could otherwise be avoided. There are also privacy issues surrounding online communications, and the issue of how much time we spend receiving, reading, deciphering, and answering communications to us.
To take advantage of all the benefits that technology in communication offers, it is crucial to ensure that organisations implement policies and guidelines for how technology should be used to communicate. Such policies might include:
- Guidelines that limit the use of email and templates for emails
- Policies for video conference calls, how they are structured and carried out
- Providing time and means for social connections
- Training people to use technology effectively when communicating, including in cultural aspects
- Providing approved and disapproved language
Technology has the potential to advance and enhance business and the human experience. It is in the hands of business leaders to ensure that this potential is reached – organisational sustainability depends upon it.
Wrapping Up
The shift to digital communication has had a profound impact on human communication in the workplace. While digital communication offers numerous advantages, such as convenience and accessibility, it also presents challenges, including the lack of nonverbal cues and the potential for miscommunication. Face-to-face communication remains essential for building strong relationships, conveying emotions effectively, and facilitating teamwork and collaboration.
As we navigate the digital world, it is crucial to find a balance between digital and face-to-face communication. By doing so, we can ensure that we are communicating effectively, building strong relationships, and fostering a connected and productive work environment. Embracing both forms of communication will help us harness the benefits of technology while preserving the essential elements of human interaction.
