Issues Affecting Effective Communication in the Workplace

As Branham said, in his book “Seven Hidden Reasons Why Employees Leave Work”, “people leave their jobs because there is not enough feedback or training. What is the other similar word of reactions? Communication”, knowing that the company is born, develops and can also die throughout its development; problems within organizations are linked to communication which represents the way the employees interact together, it’s a key factor in the growth of the company; so a good communication is a priority of any organization, it’s the key of any employee and department success and a fundamental tool in achieving productivity and maintaining strong working relationships and also in building confidence among employees, while a weak communication leads to non-motivated employees who may question their confidence, their capabilities which will definitely impact their productivity in the organization especially when they are exposed to many daily pressures at work, causing a lot of tension and discomfort in the work place. That’s why communication is a complex process that has direct influence on professional relationships. So what are these problematic issues that influence communication among employees?

How can cultural diversity hinder the effectiveness of communication among employees?

Generally, the majority care only about the advantages and benefits of cultural diversity such as innovation (Bartlett, 1889), increased efficiency and productivity (Adler, 1994), but have we ever asked about negative influences of the cultural diversity on the communication among employees? In fact, cultural diversity as it can be an asset within an organization, it can also constitute a brake, insofar as there are several variables of a cultural nature (beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, languages and / or dialect ..) associating with each other and giving rise to dysfunctions in communication between employees. As such, we mainly discuss the way in which employees interpret the messages received. According to Chevrier (1990): “a manager spends on average 70% of his time communicating, whether verbally or not, consciously or unconsciously”; to clarify this, suppose a manager communicates around the objectives within a multicultural group made up of American and Japanese employees; in this case, we will have two completely different kinds of perceptions: for an American, a goal is a precise quantifiable criteria and while for a Japanese, a goal is rather a direction to follow. Also, employees from different cultures are characterized by linguistic, legal, social, ethnic and religious specificities particular to each of them. This can limit the flow of communication by causing misunderstandings and misinterpreting as each employee tries to analyze situations according to their own culture.

Can we say that resistance to change influences internal communication within companies?

In a context of continuous economic development, whether through globalization or technological progress, any organization is faced with a need for change which can be structural, technological or cultural. In this perspective, the manager is a micro-actor of change, limited in his cognitive and communicative skills, which puts him in a position of dependence on his subordinates. He needs the cooperation of other members of the organization, who also have an ability to act, to build meaning and to communicate. Here comes another problematic issue which influences the intern communication, which is the employees’ resistance to change. When we see the organization as a communication fabric, a system of communicational transactions and as an organizing process, composed of interconnected behaviors, it becomes obvious that organizational change is, by definition, delicate. Changing the organization means changing people’s behavior and their relationships with each other. It also means changing their positions in the engagement networks, their context of creation of a meaning. And it is, at the same time, touching their identity and their everyday life. In this sense, resistance to change and communication problems are no longer seen as barriers to change, but more as natural results of a change.

What about conflicts of priorities?

This issue can also be one of the problems influencing the communication between employees into workplace, in fact conflicts of priorities are problems that arises when employees don’t take into consideration the opinions and priorities of other parties. Each team in work consider that his project has a high priority and try to value and defend it by all means and see that others project are not interesting as him, which causes a conflict of opinions between members of teams ending by a lack of communication thing that decrease their motivation and influence negatively their productivity, because having a strong and cohesive team at work is the thing that let members fell excited to come at work and put their best effort into a project and here I want to take an example of personnel experience of work within a team in a company for three month, in fact we were six people on the team and the work went well, but over time and as we got to know each other, the problems started to arise, we were brought to work in the form of two teams and each one proposes a solution for a problem that have emerged. The first team believes that the solution they have proposed is the perfect solution and the more suitable to the problem so it’s the one that must be selected with priority by the managers after this issue communication between our teams and the other had been cut off for o long period and we have got demotivated, stressed in work trying to avoid contact with this team as much as possible.

How different personality types impact the communication among employees?

Many breakdowns in communication are attributed to the problem of personality differences; in fact, different personality types have different communication preferences, and these naturally affect workplace communication, sometimes for the worst. The truth is that personality differences are very important for increasing the productivity of offices, departments and teams; it brings a variety of strengths to the work, some offer insight and some offer planning and critical thinking, etc. Therefore, all personality types should be considered. At the same time, if we fail to recognize and accommodate those differences the communication among employees will be difficult; consequently, a drop in productivity and an increase in general workplace tension will occur. The main reason behind the impact of personality differences on workplace relationships is each individual’s assumption that his or her own personality is the best one. “If more of my coworkers were like me, the office would be a better place.” In the other hand, some personality judgments are used negatively: “Well, you know the type I’m talking about.”, “He has no personality, he’s the uncommunicative type.”, “Given her personality, don’t expect much enthusiasm from her.” So, what are personality types? Now that you know that the key factors in getting the best from differences are appreciation, understanding, and adaptability. Let’s take look at the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) that is used by many businesses to understand personality and preferences, in fact, two million MBTI tests are administered each year in the United States. The MBTI is built around four opposing pairs of personality types: extraversion/introversion; sensing/intuitive; thinking/feeling; judging/perceiving. This indicator identifies the person’s preference within each of the four opposing pairs. If you do the math, you will see that there are sixteen possible combinations, or personality types.

What’s your personality type? Find it out with this personality test.

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