When it comes to team communication, faster isn’t always better

Team communication has increased by 50 percent in the last 20 years. We spend an average of three hours a day working on emails. On an average, Slack users send about 200 messages in a day.

This near constant communication hampers work productivity, with video calls, one-on-one meetings, e-mail and team chat leaving little room for actual work.

The overhead of real-time communication leads to:

1. An inability to focus and make any meaningful progress in work.
2. The constant interruptions, and context-switching draining mental resources.
3. A constant FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) due to connectivity being made a priority over productivity.
4. More stress, high frustration and time pressure, which can lead to burnout
5. Lower quality discussions due to lack of time to think and reflect.
6. No offline time, which leads to a constant connection with work, disrupting the work-life balance.

1. More control over the workday, and on how we structure our lifestyle due to flexible work hours.
2. High-quality responses due to workers having the time to think, reflect, and provide insightful ideas.
3. Better coordination and planning, leading to less stressful teamwork.
4. Employees can block their hours for uninterrupted ‘Deep Work’ time.
5. All conversations are automatically documented in email and chat.
6. Easy to disconnect at the end of the day, leading to better work-life balance.

This requires managers to:

1. Focus on the output rather than the number of hours worked.
2. Trust their employees and give them space and freedom.
3. Understand that 24/7 connectivity isn’t good for employees wellbeing.
4. Get rid of unnecessary meetings.
5. Encourage ‘Deep Work’ by disconnecting from communication tools periodically.
6. Ensure communication is only within office hours.

While face-to-face connections are important, make sure that zoom meetings, phone calls and other real-time communication are not the rule, but an exception.

Personal and real-time interaction is good for team building, but we need to provide flexibility to the remote team in both work hours and location, and make it okay for them to disconnect when required.