Pandemic Work Communication – Using aggregate data from a

Using aggregate data from a survey of 1,000 U.S. professionals ages 18 to 65, we examine how workers keep in touch and how their relationship with communication at work has changed. As informal face-to-face communication becomes less common, people are relying more on intentional forms of communication technology than on casual encounters with people in the office. To better understand the impact of these changes, the nuances in which the COWID-19 pandemic has changed communication in the workplace have been examined grammatically. Boundaries blurred in our new reality of telecommuting as well: people invited colleagues into their personal spaces and shared their lives through videoconferencing. Professionals are using communication technology – including digital channels – more now than before the pandemic. Communication in the workplace has always been difficult and challenging, even before many workers were forced to work remotely. People quickly change context and communication channels while staying in one place. Perhaps that’s why more than half of the professionals surveyed believe in the importance of informal communication in the workplace. Over time, new habits and preferences have emerged, and the result is clear: the way people communicate at work has changed dramatically. This can be attributed to the widespread adoption of digital channels of communication, especially text-based channels such as e-mail or messaging services. Much less informal interpersonal conversations and much more company-specific digital channels of communication. However, the vast majority believe that communication is the best way to communicate with others. Forty-five percent of respondents say they communicate less face-to-face with colleagues today than they did before the pandemic. Not surprisingly, they find it difficult to stay connected in the virtual workplace. When the COVID-19 pandemic began taking lives around the world just over a year ago, many companies quickly switched to remote work models. The pandemic fundamentally changed the way people communicate with each other, even though it depended on people communicating with each other to stay connected.