According to experts, the abundance of communication tools available to workers may have negative effects on their health and the quality of their work. However, new research from Britain and Canada provides some reassurance.
Published in the journal Computers In Human Behavior Reports, the study examines the concept of “multicommunication”. This refers to the tendency of certain professionals to use multiple communication tools simultaneously due to constant notifications.
In many company meetings, participants are often found reading or sending emails or messages rather than actively participating in the discussion. This behavior also extends beyond meetings into everyday tasks.
Employees are frequently interrupted by communication-related demands, which leads to multitasking. However, switching between tasks in a short span of time is mentally taxing, affecting attention span and efficiency, and potentially causing frustration.
Moderating Multicommunication
The research team from Britain and Canada argues that multicommunication can have positive aspects, particularly if it is directly related to the main task at hand.
For example, briefly checking social networks during a meeting could lead to valuable ideas that enrich the discussion. In this context, multicommunication can be beneficial if it enhances understanding of the work or contributes to more meaningful discussions with peers.
“On the surface, it’s easy to place a negative connotation on multicommunicating. But we need to focus on how people manage their multicommunicating rather than the behaviour itself,” study co-author, Jinglu Jiang, explained.
To achieve this, employees should feel free not to be hyper-reactive, especially for complex tasks that require a higher level of concentration. Employers and managers can take steps to regulate the flow of emails and instant messaging to minimize distraction and ensure moments of uninterrupted focus.
“Properly managing this behavior at the individual and team levels makes the difference between multicommunication as a distraction and multicommunication as an asset,” concluded Jiang. – AFP Relaxnews
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