Online communication has become more common in workplaces nowadays than meeting face to face. This development has brought significant changes to how employees communicate and interact. While there are some disadvantages by relying too much on online communication, I think it gets outweigh by the advantages in general.
One major advantage of online communication is more flexibility. The use of digital tools such as e-mail, video conference, and instant message allow employee to communicate even when they’re in different locations. This become more beneficial for employee on remote or hybrid work arrangement, which have become more popular after COVID-19 pandemic happens. With more work arrangement types, companies can recruit more talent from another cities or even another countries, increasing diversity and access to skilled talents. In addition, online meeting can save time and travel costs, making work more efficient.
Another benefit is improved productivity and documentation, which can leads to better work results. Online communication application often allow us to record conversation from meeting, by voice or file, automatically. This make it easier for workers to review information, track work progress, and avoid misunderstandings, that sometimes happened in traditional workplace if someone forget to write an important information because of all type of reasons.
However, there is also some disadvantages if we use online communication too much. One big concern is lack of personal connection. Traditional face to face meeting helps worker to build strong trust and working relationships by read other worker’s body language, tone, and facial expressions. There’s a possibilities of misunderstandings may occur and make a less personal teamwork. Also, having excessive screen time and constant notifications may leads to more stress and fatigue.
Despite these drawbacks, it can be reduced with a balanced approach, like having occasional in-person meetings, team building activities, and personal video calls. Those activities can help maintain, or even improve, personal connections. Overall, the developments makes me believe that the advantages of increased usage of online communication in the workplace outweigh the disadvantages.