But there's a silver lining to digital communication tools
Communicating effectively in the advent of digital tools has been one of the biggest concerns of employees, a new report from Loom has revealed, and it is costing employers billions every year.
According to the report, titled "Building Connection in the Post-Modern Workplace," 62% of office workers admitted that miscommunication and/or misinterpretation of their digital messages at work affect their mental health.
One testament to this said they were "constantly worried" of typing or saying the wrong thing.
"It puts a lot of stress on my daily," the respondent said.
Overall, about 91% of the report's respondents said their digital messages at work have been misunderstood and/or misinterpreted.
About 20% said these misunderstandings and/or misinterpretations have got them reprimanded, demoted, or even fired.
This situation then puts workers in a constant state of overthinking before saying something over digital message. In fact, nearly half or 47% of the respondents said they overthink emails and messages before pressing send.
But this overthinking is wasting employees' valuable time and is costing employers dearly.
As a result, businesses lose at least $128 billion every year because of employees "wasting time trying to communicate effectively," according to the report.
Julia Szatar, Director of Product Marketing at Loom, said the results reveal stronger the need to communicate more effectively.
"The findings in this report uncover the trends driving decisions about connection at work, what people value in workplace communication, and the biggest challenges ahead for leaders. It was clear to me after reading the survey results that demand for better ways to connect and communicate efficiently is higher than ever."
Read more: Is your company going 'digital by default'?
Silver lining
Despite these disheartening results, however, digital communication is not so bad especially with its positive effects, according to the report's results.
Its survey has revealed that digital communication tools have "empowered" some employees to thrive and show their personality more compared to the traditional office setting, with 58% of them saying it helps them engaged and remain motivated.
Furthermore, most office workers (87%) said they are able to point out how remote work and using digital communication tools have improved their job.
