Communicating with Coworkers in the Time of Covid
Much has been written about the impact of Covid. The pandemic has affected everybody in some form or fashion. Those of us who have been able to maintain remote employment throughout this crisis should consider ourselves lucky, especially given that essential workers have not had the privilege of working from home. With that in mind, the transition to remote work hasn’t been without challenges.
Personally, my work dynamic changed in the blink of an eye. In March, a company wide email telling us to work from my home landed in my inbox. At the time, my company anticipated that we would be working from home for about two weeks. Our return date was pushed back by a month, then two months, then three, until eventually our return to the office wasn’t even a topic of conversation. Even at the time of this writing, October 2020, a return to the office isn’t on the horizon.
Going from working in an office every day to working from home overnight is a massive change. The most difficult challenge for me was communication. My job, just like many of yours, necessitates constant communication with my coworkers. While tools that offer the option of video conferencing are great, there isn’t always time to set up a formal meeting. Before the pandemic, I had become very accustomed to walking over to another department to hash out an issue face to face with somebody. Now, these unplanned conversations have shifted towards words on a screen via tools like Skype or Teams. Be it information vital to a project or the way one’s tone comes across to another, so much can be lost in translation using these tools.
We have to be more purposeful than ever when communicating with our coworkers. More important than planned video conferences or calls are the quick one-offs we have via instant-messaging tools. These are the conversations where real problem solving occurs. What can we do to maximize the effectiveness of these written back and forths with our coworkers?
Short and Sweet
One of the most important things to remember is that not everyone is going to receive a written message the same way you will. That is to say, some of your coworkers will read every single word of your message with care, while others will skim. With that in mind, Brandon De Hoyos’ advice to “Keep messages brief and to the point” (Hoyos) is extremely valuable. The less you say, the less room you allow for misinterpretation. Make your point with as little words as possible. If you feel as if the back and forth is going to take more than five minutes, “…suggest a face-to-face meeting or a phone call to delve more deeply into the topic” (Hoyos).
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should
The ability to instantly strike up a conversation with a coworker is just as essential in the pandemic as it was before Covid. It may be even easier to do now than it was before. The majority of instant messaging tools are available on your smartphone in addition to your computer. On one hand, this means you can easily reach out to your coworkers the minute you need to. On the other hand, this means you can easily reach out to your coworkers the minute you need to. Covid has blurred the lines between home and work. The responsibility falls on us to respect our coworkers’ time away from work. Respect any boundaries that a coworker creates from themselves. At the same time, you need to create and adhere to boundaries for yourself as well. Even if you have the most brilliant idea of all time at 10 PM, you need to remember that “Most messages can easily wait until the next business day” (York). Think of it this way, if you wouldn’t text this person outside of work hours in the past, then you shouldn’t IM this person past work hours now, even if it is through a tool designated for work communication. Take a moment to remember that just because we have the ability to be connected all of the time doesn’t mean that we should be. Respect the personal lives of those you work with.
You’re On the Clock
Above all else, remember that, even within the confines of an instant messaging chatbox, you are at work! As a working professional, it is imperative that you keep in mind to “Refrain from bad-mouthing your co-workers, company or clients, or sharing too much personal information” (eMazzanti Technologies). I am not saying that there is no room to communicate casually with coworkers you feel comfortable with over instant messages. However, don’t say anything you wouldn’t want your other coworkers to overhear. It is extremely easy to cultivate a false sense of privacy in these communication channels. After all, you are already at home and you may be going back and forth with somebody you have a genuine friendship with. Despite this, you are still talking within a channel controlled by your company.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
The reality of what it means to be at work is shifting in ways I couldn’t have predicted a year ago. We have to embrace what is to come and be prepared for several different learning curves happening all at once. There are a lot of new concepts, methods, and approaches workers across all sorts of industries will have to learn quickly as we continue to adapt to a post-Covid world. I feel that adjusting the way we communicate with our coworkers to accommodate our new normal is an important first step in preparing ourselves for the additional challenges on the horizon. With a great team and support system, we can all rise to any occasion, which is why effective communication with those in the trenches with us is so important.
Sources
https://hbr.org/2020/03/best-practices-for-instant-messaging-at-work
https://www.emazzanti.net/7-instant-messaging-rules-for-the-workplace/
https://www.lifewire.com/etiquette-rules-for-messaging-at-work-1949632
I love working from the comfort of my home and my company has decided to keep it that way. We communicate primarily through Teams and are always sending messages back and forth. (When on the clock) My boss even likes to send memes and gifs to our team and we have a very friendly environment.
Great tips on work communication from home! I think it is easy to just send messages whenever the thought arises but it is very important to keep on that work schedule. My children’s school district sent out a message to all parents this year that teachers or administrators would not be answering emails after a certain time of day or on the weekends. It made me sad that they had to send it, but glad they were standing up for the teachers and administrators.
I think during the pandemic, the communication became a bit tough especially people who used to go to the office and for many schools. But thankfully, because of technology we are surviving through the pandemic. we can just send a text message and within seconds we get the replay and there are many apps where we can talk with many people at the same time. I have all online classes and whenever I need help I just sent a email to my professors and they are very kind to help me right away. I think we should try to adjust with “new-normal” the way we communication with our co-workers, students, teacher and etc. And we should understand that, if you are not responded right away then you must be patient and try to understand the situation.
You make a lot of good points very relevant to this season of the pandemic. I work, study, interact personally and professionally from home almost all the time, and it is easy to blur the lines though sometimes striking a balance between professional and relational can be a deal-maker.
Overall great post. Communication is key and knowing the right ways to do it is important. I like that you chose this topic and presented it.