How are professionals using communication technologies in

the workplace?

Class interview projectHU3840 Organizational

CommunicationSpring 2010

Interview Guidelines• Defining a professional– Salaried employee or licensed contractor– Position requires specialized education– Works in a designated workplace– Communication is central to the job

• 30-minute interview– Class questions– Questions specific to group’s topic– Informed consent

Class Questions• Which technologies do you use to communicate in your

workplace?– Please walk me through a typical day’s communication activities.

• How have communication technologies affected…– The types of work you do?– Your workload ?

• How have communication technologies changed from the time you started in this field?

Was there initial resistance to the communication changes?– How have these changes affected your work experience?

• Are there any specific technologies your office plans to incorporate in the near future?

Group Topics• Facebook at work• Effects on collaboration and mobility• Restrictions on usage in the medical office• Blackberry addiction?• New and old technologies: hinder or help?• Supervisory uses• Effects on face-to-face interactions• Personal and professional risks of usage

Participants

• 24 professionals interviewed– 4 Medical– 7 Academic– 11 Other

• Positions– Managers, directors, supervisors– Most had specialized careers– All had advanced education and/or experience

Communication Technologies Most Often in Use

• Most frequently identified: Email & cell phones– Also ftf, landlines, regular mail, fax, collaboration

tools• Identified by 1-3 participants– 2-way radio, IM, meeting software

Most Used: Email• Pro’s– Facilitates interaction• Difficult co-workers• Professional collaborators• Intimidating others (“big-wigs”)

– Organizes and documents messages• Con’s– Email never closes or goes home at the end of the

day (“It’s like you’re always working”)

Effects on Work and Workloads• Email has become “work”: reading, responding, organizing,

forwarding• More multi-tasking• E-recordkeeping in the medical office– Patient files– Filing Insurance Claims– Internal Electronic IM Notification System– Email Prescriptions

• Phones and email enhance travelers’ mobility and access– Hazards of driving and cell phone use

• Improves scheduling and meetings

Confirmation for Rich/Lean Media Model

• Participants report that types of communication differ with importance or size – Large and important tasks are generally discussed

in person – Mediocre tasks are delivered via memos or email

but rarely in person• Final decisions are conducted in personal

meetings

Observed Changes Over Time• Spatial shifts: beyond location toward virtual– Facilitating more interpersonal communication and

collaboration across long distances• Video conferencing; Google Docs/Wave; Drupal

• Time shifts: immediacy, urgency– Email facilitates quick response– Online info transfer is faster

• Online gossip can out-pace a formal response that must go through the chain-of-command

• Media shifts: from snail mail to email to i-options– Email is widely used but is beginning to be phased out– Increase in smart phones, itouch, IM, social networking

Resistance to Change?• Two-thirds reported little resistance– Uneven reception and adoption (“at their own

pace”)• One-third reported problems– IM and email as distractions/Inappropriate use– Changes not as accepted by older coworkers– Resistance to availability outside office– Learning curve and compatibility issues with

collaboration and work-process software systems

Anticipated Changes

• Enhanced video conferencing capabilities• Standardizing software systems across a

national company• Text-messaging to publicize events• Moving to “paperless” offices• Sharing information – Google Docs– Drupal

• Using iphones for IM and intranet access

Ftf and Work Relationships• Ftf enhances workplace efficiencies– People that work together tend to have closer human to

human relationships• Most participants report regular ftf meetings

– People who communicate electronically don’t share the same closeness

• Electronic media increase informality and decrease face time– Social networking, IM– One participant warned of “faceless people departments”

because so much communication is online and personal connections and skills are becoming obsolete

Facebook• Participants started using Facebook due to workplace

pressure– An informal substitute for email– Professional accounts are often separate from personal accounts– Many organizations now have Facebook pages

• Impact on work relationships– Participants make an effort to treat co-workers the same after viewing

co-workers’ Facebook profile– Some participants mention actively separating themselves from co-

workers after seeing compromising content• Overall participants agreed that it would be difficult to

effectively do their job without Facebook

Research on Facebook Use

• 50% of Americans use Facebook• Workers who browse Facebook saw a 9%

increase in productivity• 20% of companies check prospective job

candidates’ profiles– 10% of companies say that they plan to check

prospective job candidates profiles• 43% of companies worldwide say they have

banned Facebook in the workplace

Reported Regulations on Personal Use

• Personal calls and internet use – Restricted for some, especially lower-level

employees• Specific prohibitions regarding:

• Pornography• Facebook• Shopping• Chain Letters• Religious, Political, or Racist messages

Blackberry Use

Pro’s• Increases flexibility• Increases convenience• Facilitates prioritizing• Increases efficiency• Simplifies messages• Increases productivity

Con’s• 24/7 availability• Blurs life boundaries• Increases stress• Increases workload• Limited wireless service• Limited applications

The Work Day Is No Longer 9 to 5

• Work and home being phased together due to communication technology– Participants are almost constantly available for

contact by clients, co-workers, or employees– One participant noted a “fuzzy barrier between

work time and personal time”; another said, “I think people work 24-7.”

– Most participants seemed to find email, cell phone, and IM contact with work necessary during off-work hours.

What’s Old? What’s New?*• Old: Email, fax, landline phones, beepers– These are still present – Written documents retain bureaucratic and legal

importance• New: Text messaging, smart phones• Often overlooked: computers– Technology transparency: Has this technology

become so familiar and integrated into our lives that we fail to recognize it as mediating communication?

A paradox?

• Utopian view: Most professionals see technological changes as ultimately beneficial for tasks and relationships

• Endorsing the urgent organization: more and faster communication connections; multi-tasking; transparency in supplier and customer interactions

• Negative impacts: Most professionals also reported negative effects

• Technologies themselves add work; work/life out of balance; creates professional and personal risks

Future Research

• Communication technologies as work in themselves?• Communication technologies blurring work life and

personal life—how much is too much?• Communication technologies and multitasking: how

does this shape work processes and relationships?• Differences between professionals and non-

professionals in communication technology uses?• Social networking technologies: what do these add

to workplace cultures and communication?