During the events of the movie "You've Got Mail", which was produced in 1998, starring "Tom Hanks" and "Meg Ryan";
The e-mail alert tone was a comfort to the two heroes, knowing that they would read kind words from the sender.
But unlike the romantic movie scenes, the real-life email alert tone may carry unexpected bad news.
This is what happened to Twitter employees this month.
An employee who has been working for years somewhere, on his daily way to work, hears from his phone an alert informing him that he has received an e-mail, passing his eyes quickly on the shocking message that informs him that the company in which he works is going through a “difficult process of reducing the global workforce, which will affect on a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to the company,” and that he should check his e-mail again at a specified later time to know whether he will continue with his work or if he will be fired.
This is what really happened with Twitter employees after billionaire Elon Musk took control of the site, according to the Washington Post.
After receiving the email, some workers actually lost access to internal systems such as the email service and the Slack messaging app. One of the company's employees told the American newspaper that during the hours after receiving the message, the numbers of employees began to dwindle in Slack channels. People were dropping like flies. 1).
Looks like I'm unemployed y'all.
Just got remotely logged out of my work laptop and removed from Slack.
#OneTeam forever.
Loved you all so much.
So sad it had to end this way 💔
— simon balmain (@SBkcrn) November 4, 2022
Imagine ending years of your life and hard work for somewhere with a dry, direct email.
You will not see a grateful look in your manager's eyes for your efforts, you will not hear the sorry tone of voice that tries to ease the severity of the decision and tells you that no one wanted this matter but it was forced against everyone's will, there is no human contact here and you do not even get Your right to feelings of gratitude and regret from your workplace After years of effort, there is only electronic communication, dry language telling you specific information and actions that need to be taken.
Harsh work environments
It can be considered that electronic communication has contributed - in some way - to increasing the harshness of the various labor markets. The matter is not limited to dismissal through cyberspace only. The harshness of electronic communication imposed itself and tightened its grip even on the steps of the business cycle itself, after it changed the way companies communicate with employees, customers and suppliers.
More recently, the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated this huge shift in communication towards the point of no return.
During the pandemic, many organizations have reimagined their communication systems with their employees, and have replaced them in favor of flexible working from home in whole or in part.
Digital communications has become the leading force in this new way of working.
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The definition of electronic communication at work includes all forms of online communication of an organization or company, starting with the use of electronic messages, and ending with the transmission of information via digital media (2).
After electronic communication has become prevalent in many institutions and companies, accordingly, there is more dealing with video conferencing tools such as "Zoom", and messaging channels such as "Slack" or "WhatsApp", this also means A shift in the culture of communication and communication between the workplace and its employees.
Good workplace communication ensures that employees have the information they need to perform well, build a positive work environment, and eliminate potential shortcomings.
Effective communication must convey information accurately, while maintaining or improving human relationships.
On the other hand, poor communication has very negative consequences for work. During the current year, a survey conducted by the “Expert Market” company found that 28% of employees cited poor communication as a reason for not being able to finish projects on time (3).
The inbox that changes our lives
Well, email in particular has had a profound impact on societies by changing how humans communicate.
It has greatly reduced the use of traditional mail, as a 2013 study concluded that e-mail has achieved a 92% replacement for written messages as a means of personal communication (4).
With a simple observation of the reality around you, you can now know that the matter may not be limited to traditional mail, as e-mail has replaced social visits and phone calls as well.
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At work, large companies and organizations use e-mail systems as an important communication link between management and employees and between employees and each other. Your manager does not need to come to your office, call you, or even talk to you on the phone to ask you for a task. All he has to do now is send you a written message. By e-mail, subject to Urgent.
It is true that business messages can now be received through the various chat applications available on smartphones, but e-mail is still the most widespread form of electronic communication within organizations, and the increasing use of mobile devices in business has given the e-mail experience a new dimension (5).
Thanks to e-mail, employees can interact and collaborate without the need for a face-to-face conversation. This is not entirely positive. According to a research paper published by "Cyber Psychology", the lack of direct communication often leads to misunderstandings, especially when it comes to with humor or sarcasm, which may reduce effectiveness in communication (5).
Although one of the most important advantages of electronic communication is the speed in completing tasks and works, fast communication is not necessarily a good communication, as the excessive use of email in communication leads to many losses.
A company with 100 employees can expect to lose approximately $450,000 a year or more due to email blunders, incompetence, and misunderstandings.
Poor writing skills are one of the biggest problems with email.
A recent study by the National Writing Commission found that American companies spend up to $3.1 billion annually addressing their employees' writing deficiencies.
These deficiencies constitute ambiguity in the statement of what is required, incomplete information and excessive information. Also, one of the most prominent mistakes is that the mail is written in a harsh or demanding tone (6).
On the other hand, sending dozens of emails to departments is a growing problem for many workers.
Sometimes employees are overwhelmed with emails;
This may force them to neglect other important job duties.
On the other hand, managers who spend a lot of time reading and responding to emails from partners, suppliers, workers, and customers have less time to train and motivate their subordinates.
But the costs of email ultimately fall disproportionately on the recipient, who has to deal with excessive amounts of messages and requests as quickly as possible (5).
Less communication and more stress
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Communication in the workplace may have been a source of stress and anxiety for employees and workers long before the digital age.
Imagine your boss coming out of his office and coming to you to tell you to catch him in his office, or calling you to get a status report on a particular project, these types of situations always generate stress and a feeling of anxiety and stress.
You may think that electronic communication has alleviated this issue because communication is no longer required to be direct, and you no longer have to control your facial emotions, tone of voice, and body language if you hear from your manager something that bothers you, because all that will reach him from your reaction, in case Electronic communication is a few words that he will read from behind his screen.
But the matter is not entirely positive. With the shift to new technology to facilitate conversations, communication has become easier and faster, but its effectiveness has decreased significantly.
Communication has not only decreased, but tension has also increased, after the boundaries between our professional and private lives have collapsed. The employee's communication with the manager or employer is no longer limited to official working hours. The employee may be eating dinner or putting his children to bed while receiving a work letter. from his company;
Which creates a feeling of having to work 24/7.
Additionally, the speed of digital communications can make employees feel like every message they receive requires an immediate response;
Which in turn creates more pressure.
Researchers have found that when employees receive an after-hours email, they tend to overestimate the speed with which the sender can expect a response.
Known as the “email urgency bias,” this phenomenon has been linked to lower feelings of well-being and higher levels of job stress (7).
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Also, there is an added level of anxiety represented by those three little dots that indicate that the person opposite you is writing a message to you at the moment, when these dots appear next to the name of your boss, it gives you time to imagine and analyze what he may say excessively, and because they know that you Online, there is pressure to respond as quickly as possible, even if you are doing something else.
It can be said that electronic communication has been able to create a whole new layer of complexity in dealing during work, instead of direct communication that allows explaining the intended meaning and communicating it more smoothly and allows asking questions and obtaining a direct and quick answer to them, the matter turns into a long series of messages on Professional communication platforms.
(8).
Morning messages screaming in your face!
Let's make you more poetry.
Imagine waking up in the morning to an email in your inbox written entirely in block letters, this message excites your senses, and makes you pay attention much faster than the cup of coffee you sip.
With the Caps Lock key and an exclamation point at the end, your co-worker or boss has done the equivalent of yelling at you in direct communication.
These “flagrant” emails are on the rise exponentially in different work environments (9).
During a 2009 study, more than 90% of professionals surveyed said they had experienced bad and potentially offensive email exchanges at work.
During the same study, the effect of cyberbullying in the workplace on employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to leave was investigated.
The results of the survey showed that online rudeness was negatively related to employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and employees who experienced online rudeness were also more likely to leave their jobs or engage in negative behavior against their organization (10).
Studies have also shown that dealing with rude emails at work can create long-term stress and affect the recipient's well-being.
In a simulated experiment, participants who received such messages from their boss experienced more negative emotions, and found it difficult to stay engaged in work tasks and answer questions correctly.
During the study, 84 participants completed a series of math tasks while interacting with an unsupportive supervisor via email.
Data were collected on energy, mood, ability to perform tasks, and participation.
Results indicated that participants reported higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of energy after working with a non-supportive supervisor, compared to the group that did the same things while receiving email from a supportive supervisor.
Additionally, participants who received negative mail performed significantly worse on math tasks (11).
The stress associated with email bluntness can carry over into family life as well, as the employee's family bears the brunt of the stress caused by email bluntness.
A study of married couples indicated that employees reported their stress to their partner over the weekend.
(12)
Finally, let us point out that email rudeness does not only mean the obvious insult, but also includes being ignored by the other party.
A special study in this regard suggests that there are two distinct forms of impolite e-mail messages: The first form is derogatory remarks or active rudeness, which are messages of an overtly aggressive nature.
The second type is ignoring or the silent treatment, which some consider negative rudeness, which in turn leaves people stuck and struggling with their negative thoughts and uncertainties (13).
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Sources:
1- Elon Musk begins mass layoffs on Twitter
2- What is digital communication?
3- The Importance of Effective Workplace Communication - Statistics for 2022
4- Email Statistics Report
5- The Impact of E-mail Communication on Organizational Life
6- Special Report – businesslunchandlearn.com
7- You don't need to answer right away
8- Why Workplace Communication Causes Stress in the Digital Era
9- Aggravating Circumstances: A Status Report on Rudeness in America.
10- Mind your E-manners: Impact of cyber incivility on employees' work attitude and behavior
11-What a rude e-mail!
Examining the differential effects of incivility versus support on mood, energy, engagement, and performance in an online context.
12- The long arm of email incivility: Transmitted stress to the partner and partner work withdrawal
13- Put you down versus tune you out: Further understanding active and passive e-mail incivility.