TechSmith Corporation, an industry leader in visual communication, in collaboration with independent research partner Qualtrics, releases its report From Chaos to Clarity: How to Thrive in the Modern Workplace, examining the current state of workplace communications. The report, based on data collected between July to August 2023 which surveyed over 900 full-time workers in digital communication and collaboration roles from the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France across various industries, highlights which methods of communication are relied on most in the workplace, why employees struggle to keep up, and how to improve.

The rise of remote and hybrid work, the increased use of digital tools across multiple platforms, and the added complexity of working across time zones and cultures has made workplace communication increasingly challenging to navigate. The report reveals that many find themselves bombarded with emails, meetings, chat messages, and phone calls, with 50% reporting the flurry of daily communication has the unintended consequence of hindering productivity. Responses also indicate that the sheer volume of communication leads to misunderstandings and the need for respondents to repeat themselves. Other key findings include:

• The majority of respondents said only 3 out of 5 meetings are valuable or productive: While 60% of all respondents believe they spend the correct amount of time in meetings, they also acknowledge that not all of those meetings are valuable or productive. The main issue respondents cited as detrimental was “right people/right place.” Additionally, hybrid workers say they feel the negative effects of communication overload even more strongly than others, with 58% saying their productivity is affected by communications and 44% saying they spend too much time in meetings.
• 74% must repeat themselves or clarify information at least some of the time with nearly a quarter saying this happens “often”: Additionally, 66% experience misunderstandings or confusion at least some of the time and almost half said they have experienced missed deadlines or project delays due to miscommunication at least some of the time. Respondents who said they often or always experience misunderstandings, communication breakdowns, and having to repeat themselves were more likely to report that the amount of communication they receive negatively impacts their productivity.
• 98% and 97% believe that video and images improve communication effectiveness in the workplace, respectively: Respondents were open to watching pre-recorded video messages instead of attending meetings that don’t require real-time conversation, such as status updates, training, etc. They also said that adding images like screenshots, infographics, and charts to messaging can provide more clarity than text alone to reduce misunderstandings and save time by eliminating needless back-and-forth conversations.

“We are in a prolonged transitional period where traditional work philosophies and rituals are clashing with the many digital tools designed to usher in a new era of work, often creating a frustrating communication environment,” said Wendy Hamilton, CEO of TechSmith. “To move past this, business leaders must closely examine the pain points of how their employees connect in hybrid and remote work environments so we can improve the clarity and quality of communication in our organizations.”

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