#workplace-communication

#workplace-communication

Have you ever misinterpreted a colleague's tone on a Teams chat? Or wondered what Mike meant by his face-without-a-mouth emoji in response to your carefully worded idea? A new book by University of Auckland Business School Associate Professor Barbara Plester explores how communication, fun, humor and happiness are evolving in the age of hybrid work. "Hybrid Happiness: Fun and Freedom in Flexible Work" investigates the social and emotional effects of flexible work.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I occasionally enjoy having lunch at a restaurant with a group of longtime friends. All is well until the time comes when they want to take a group photo, which, of course, gets posted on Facebook. I do not post on social media. I do not want my life, in words nor photos, posted. So I quietly say I'll back out of camera range, as I don't want a picture of me posted online.

If your workday lives on Slack, you already know how noisy it can get. Threads spiral into chaos. Messages get lost in the shuffle. And before you know it, someone's asking for the third time, "Hey, just checking in on this?" That's where a well-written message makes all the difference. A quick reminder, a friendly nudge, or a clear update sent at the right time can keep everyone in sync without sounding overbearing.

People are already using AI to write emails and documents -- some even suspect their friends are using ChatGPT to write heartfelt texts, too. In that vein, Gemini is coming to Google Chat, Google announced on Tuesday. The AI assistant can refine messages and catch grammar or spelling errors for Google Chat users. Google also highlighted Gemini's usefulness when composing a message to a large group, a stakeholder, or someone communicating in a second language.

Horizontal communication comprises the interactions between people or departments working at the same level in an organization. It is also known as lateral communication and is as significant for the company as external communication. In the book Organizational Communication by Michael J. Papa, horizontal communication is defined as the 'flow of messages across functional areas' in a particular level of an organization.

Changes from the C-suite often land as abstract ideas that feel disconnected from the reality on the ground. It's up to team leaders to help people see what it means for them.

People know they're supposed to be holding standups, but they don't remember why. When the reasons behind daily standups get lost, they become status updates.

The struggle to properly respond to feedback stems from balancing emotional reactions with professional expectations. Individuals managing feedback should strive for a measured response that still conveys sincerity.

If you are potentially subject to raids, and are not communicating something out to your employees about this, to me, that's negligence.

Your sister-in-law has burned that bridge. She cannot be trusted. You should speak to her and let her know how selfish and deceitful her behavior was regarding her maternity leave and returning to work. While people do those things sometimes in order to get as much money out of their jobs as possible, she is family. She should not have taken advantage of you in that way. Unless she is your only option, don't hire her back.

"The study revealed that 'circle back' and 'synergy' were the most loathed terms... Users on LinkedIn get annoyed with 'low-hanging fruit' as well."

When given vague feedback, employees may struggle to understand exactly what changes need to be made, leading to confusion and frustration about performance expectations.