Surveyed Employees Face Email And Other Workplace-Related Communication Challenges

You’d think that with so much at stake in the business world these days, all companies and organizations would make it a high priority to communicate effectively, efficiently and strategically with their employees. This is especially true during crisis situations, when business leaders should be able to connect with workers immediately and often.

Unfortunately, some organizations may be falling short of their communication goals and priorities—if they have them.

In its first Workplace Wellness Report released today by email app Superhuman it found, among other things, that:

• 44% of knowledge workers said that their company has no norms and standards around workplace communication.
• 80% preferred more effective communication throughout their company than the ability to attend a fancy all-company event offsite. 
• A quarter (26%) of workers listed too many emails in their inbox as one of their top distractions. 

The survey was conducted in October 2021 among 1,003 U.S.-based knowledge workers, 502 of whom work remotely and 501 of whom work in an office. Sampling was conducted via RepData, a data collection agency. The design and analysis of the data was conducted by Ground Control Research.  

Marie Kretlow, the people experience and programs lead at Superhuman, said, “We were most surprised to see that nearly half of respondents are working without guidance on how to best communicate with their colleagues.

“When you think about the significant number of people who have started a new job in the past year, including those who now work remotely or in a hybrid environment, this is surprising and potentially quite challenging to navigate,” she observed.

“Knowing how, when, and where to communicate with your teammates is an essential part of collaboration, productivity, and ultimately being able to do your job. Most people want to contribute and succeed in their roles and being able to operate within clear guidelines and expectations helps them do so,” Kretlow counseled.

Advice For Business Leaders 

Kretlow recommended that corporate executives:

Empower And Enable

“Workplace leaders need to empower and enable their employees to be productive and succeed in their role, regardless of location or tenure.”

Establish Communication Standards

Work with their teams to outline clear norms for communication in their organization.

“This should include the basics, like which tools to use and when to respond, as well as guidance on how to best communicate with one another, like being considerate of tone and style. Once outlined, these norms should be documented, shared with the team, and baked into new hire onboarding so new people joining also know what to expect.

“Setting clear guidelines for expected response times, as well as work/life balance, is a particularly important consideration,” she advised.

Finding The Right Balance

Companies need to find the right balance between not enough—and too much—communication with their employees.

In April I wrote that, “Business leaders may already know that email fatigue is a problem—but they might not know how heavily message overload is weighing on the minds of their workers. According to the results of a new survey, the rising tide of emails, messages, and video meetings caused by remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic is leading to a growing level of employee burnout and job dissatisfaction.”

The survey, conducted by Wakefield Research for Superhuman, found:

• An overwhelming majority of office workers (89%) said daily work tasks such as sorting through an inbox of unopened emails or navigating incoming Slack or Teams messages is one of the most unpleasant parts of working remotely.
• More than one-third of office workers (38%) said this ‘email fatigue’ is likely to push them to quit their jobs.
• That sentiment is more pronounced among younger workers. For office workers 40 or under, more than half (51%) listed the volume of emails and Slack or Teams messages they received as a top reason for why they’d consider leaving their jobs.  
• Half of remote workers (50%) spent their own money on tools to help manage their productivity, and another 17% plan to do so in the future.