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 Workplace Communication Organizational Behaviour Submitted to: Jane Anderson Ashley Morton February 6, 2015 1 Introduction Communication is the process of sharing ideas, messages and information with other individuals. Communicating can be expressed through verbal, nonverbal, visual, and electronic communication. These forms of communication can affect how people work together. By being able to recognize negative workplace communication and having the know how to deal with it, your business can achieve positive workplace communication. Communicating positively in the workplace can help put your business on the right track to more successful ventures. Verbal Communication Verbal communication plays a vital role in the workplace. Verbal communication is the process of sharing information through speech. When at work, it is very important to make sure that you are able to communicate with others verbally, in a professional manner. Individuals who display effective verbal communication skills use spoken words to deliver a message clear and concise (Duggan). Not only does the sender need to send a clear message, but also the receiver should be able to comprehend the message. If the receiver is unable to understand the message being communicated, it can result in confusion and conflict (Duggan). By not understanding how to use effective verbal communication skills, employers and employees may have more negative results as well as conflicts. Negative verbal communication can create stress for employees and employers. Even if individuals are not trying to portray negative verbal communication, they can be without even knowing it. Negative verbal communication can be displayed by tone of voice. Employers who use rude or stern tone of voice can make their employees feel uncomfortable and stressed about the task at hand. By talking down to employees or trying 2 to direct blame, the workplace environment can become hostile. Employers and employees, who use effective conversational structure, are able to let their listeners understand the message they are sending. By failing to comprehend proper structure, receivers may be confused by the message if the sender is rushing through it or scrambling their words together. Once familiar with negative verbal communication, employees and employers can work together to eliminate negative verbal communication within the workplace. Communicating negatively can be a difficult habit to break but being aware of the negativity can help influence positive communication. By knowing how to communicate positively, the workplace can become a more welcoming place. When speaking to employers and fellow employees, it is also wise to be direct. If your point is unclear and you are unsure of what you are trying to say, others are less likely to listen to you (Duggan). By being direct, your message can be processed as one clear, easy thought. The speaker should always use positive words or phrases rather than focusing on the negativity. For example, saying what you can do instead of what you cannot do. Employers should attempt to get into the habit of providing positive verbal feedback to their employees. This will encourage employees to feel that they can voice their opinion and not have to stress about work assignments. When employers engage positively with employees it can help create a more trusting bond between superiors and subordinates. By implementing these points of positive verbal communication in the workplace, employees and employers will be able to continue business practices more efficiently. 3 Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication is the process of communicating without speech. Body movements, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and proxemics are all examples of nonverbal communication. Appropriate nonverbal communication enables men and women to perform their job responsibilities more efficiently (Spangler). Nonverbal communication helps enhance verbal communication and eliminate communication breakdowns. Both the sender and receiver can bounce off each other’s actions to keep the flow of the conversation. Nonverbal behaviors enhance the speaker’s ability to convey messages (Spangler). When at work it is wise to always use positive nonverbal communication. For example, if a superior is talking in a meeting and starts pounding his or her fist on the table, employees could comprehend this of an aggressive nature and as a result, provide a negative response. Nonverbal communication can be inappropriate at the workplace and it is critical to know what is appropriate and what is not. Negative nonverbal behaviors could also result in sexual harassment. Women and men react to nonverbal behaviors differently. Gender relates to communication because it influences the use of verbal and nonverbal signals, the language of masculine and feminine subcultures (Spangler). Boundaries should never be crossed at the workplace. There are four main categories of proxemics. These are intimate, personal, social and public distance. Communicating at an intimate distance can make many people feel uncomfortable. Understanding these distances can help employees and employers address one another in non-­‐threating and appropriate ways. Although, any inappropriate behaviour occurring that makes a person feel uncomfortable should be taken to a superior or a higher level of authority. Those who are a victim of negative nonverbal behaviour should always 4 document each encounter. Those convicted of such negative behaviour can be terminated and even charged. Because nonverbal communications are interpreted through facial expressions and emotions, it allows the sender and receiver to see how one another are reacting to the conversation or situation at hand. Nonverbal communication is an important part of the overall communication process but many individuals are unaware of the nonverbal behaviour they are using. Since people react to conversations with their emotions, it is wise to try and learn the negative nonverbal behaviors you use. For example, your bitterness towards a rival employee’s remarks might reveal a flash of aggression on your face even though you try your best to conceal it (Knapp). By learning your instinctive reactions, you can start to eliminate the negative and replace them with positive behaviors. Positive nonverbal behaviors help encourage strong communication processes. Nodding along to the speaker and use of eye contact can resemble that you are taking interest and understand what is being said. Smiling is one of the most effective ways of communicating. Smiling is a nonverbal behaviour that is hard to misinterpret. It is known to have positive influence on the workplace and employee wellness. Smiling at work cannot only make your day seem better, but it shows your coworkers that you are friendly and enjoy your job. Although smiling is effective, it is important to try not to fake smile. If your coworkers and superiors can tell your smile is not genuine, this too can create conflicts at the workplace. When communicating a smile can create a stronger positive connection. Those who communicate with a smile are likely to receive more positive verbal and nonverbal responses. 5 Electronic Communication Nonverbal and verbal communications have been lost to electronic communication. Electronic communication is the process of communicating through technology with words, pictures, signals etc. In today’s workplace, electronic mail has become the primary source of communication between individuals (Taylor, 2008). Texting and emailing are prime examples of how people can communicate out of sync. Because you are not face-­‐to-­‐
face, you cannot see or hear their nonverbal and verbal responses. This makes it more difficult to understand and respond to the message. Misinterpretation of these messages can result in conflicts. Conflicts with electronic communication mainly result from misinterpretation. Depending on your mood, you can implement a message as to how you are feeling rather than how they are feeling. Because you cannot see nor hear the message, you interpret it from your own frame of reference. A message completely innocent can be misinterpreted to cause an argument. In the workplace, it is important to make sure that all emails or other means of electronic communication are kept in a professional state. It is always wise construct emails properly with the use of proper grammar and structure. All work related emails should also have a greeting and a sign off. For example, thank you for your time, and your name. Not only has electronic mail become the primary source of communication, but it has also created an increase in work overload stress. A survey conducted by the Australian Psychological Society has found that eighty percent of workers spent more than twenty percent of their day dealing with emails (Taylor, 2008). Employees are not just dealing with emails at work. Electronic communication makes it convenient for people to work 6 from home. This creates more stressful situations because it interferes with the balance between work and private life. Because electronic messaging has become a norm of society, people find it hard not to respond to messages, thus creating work overload. Although electronic communication can create work overload, many argue that it also reduces work productivity. Electronic communication has been proven in studies that it prevents the full exchange of views and feedback available in face-­‐to-­‐face interactions (Taylor, 2008). Even though electronic communication can be helpful, it is difficult to use for complex judgmental tasks. It is hard to discuss what disciplinary actions to take behind devices. By implemented face-­‐to-­‐face interactions for important work related issues, employers and employees are able to interact with more detail and understanding. Electronic communication has developed into a norm for the workplace and as a result, it is hard to keep track of employee’s personal use of technology at work. How much time is wasted for personal texts or emails? There are many occurrences where employees have run into conflicts because of using their work email for personal use. Employees should never bad mouth other employees or employers in emails. These messages are not only unacceptable, but they can end up in the wrong hands, resulting in consequences. Technology after all has its glitches. In my opinion, work and personal accounts should always be kept separate. Not only is there the issue of accidently leaking personal information, a lot of confidential information is processed through electronic communication. Serious consequences can arise from confidential company information ending up in the wrong hands. Electronic communication has come a long way but it shows its use best when used responsibly. 7 Conclusion Communication is always occurring. Because it is something that we as humans use daily, it is important to understand how communicating can affect your every day life. By knowing the positives of verbal, nonverbal and electronic communication behaviors, we can start to develop more friendly, interactive conversations. If everyone in the workplace were able to comprehend such positive communication techniques, a workday would be much more productive, and conflicts if any, would resolve much faster. Even though communication is ever changing, it will always have its importance in the workplace. By implementing positive communication in the workplace, it can assist in putting the business on the right track to more successful ventures within and outside of the company. 8 References Duggan, T. (n.d.). Examples of Verbal Communication in the Workplace. Retrieved 2 4, 2015, from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-­‐verbal-­‐communication-­‐workplace-­‐
10936.html Knapp, H. H. Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction (Vol. 8). Monica Eckman. Spangler, L. (1995). Gender-­‐Specific Nonverbal Communication: Impact for Speaker Effectiveness. Human Resource Development Quarterly , 6 (4), 409. Steven McShane, S. S. Canadian Organizational Behaviour (Vol. 8). United States. Taylor, F. A. (2008). E-­‐mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work. Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change , 5 (2). 9