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6Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace

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Learning Outcomes

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

ሁ Identify workplace communication behaviors. ሁ Explain how interpersonal communication can enhance professional success. ሁ Understand the different types of formal and informal workplace relationships. ሁ Describe how emerging technologies continue to change workplace communication. ሁ Apply suggestions for successful interpersonal business and professional communication to

interactions.

Introduction

Introduction To illustrate the intricacy of communication in a business and professional setting, consider the following scenario that involves two coworkers, Patrick and Dominique, and their boss, Suzanne:

Patrick and Dominique work as lawyers in a midsized law firm in Memphis, Tennessee. Neither of them is from the area, so once they were hired, they immediately forged a close friendship. They found that they had common interests, such as watching football, cooking, and talking about their partners and kids. Because Patrick and Dominique do not practice the same type of law, they do not work together frequently; however, they attend many of the same meetings and are both sometimes a part of cases that their firm takes on. Though they do not collaborate at work often, they do frequently talk about their coworkers, the firm’s policies, and their boss, Suzanne.

Suzanne is actually a frequent topic of conversation between Patrick and Dominique. Sometimes, they do not understand her managerial style, and they find themselves commiserating with each other about decisions she has made or policies she has introduced. They feel that talking to each other is better than complaining to Suzanne because, overall, they enjoy their jobs. Patrick and Dominique are also careful to rarely have these conversations at work; instead, they e-mail, text, instant message, or chat on the phone about Suzanne.

Suzanne, however, has picked up on the fact that Patrick and Dominique are very close and believes that their friendship is a detriment to the organiza- tion. She sees their closeness as reducing overall employee morale, such as when she (and other employees) notice them rolling their eyes at each other during meetings or when she finds them frequently talking in each other’s offices with their doors closed. Because of this, Suzanne has cautioned newer attorneys in the firm from getting too close to Patrick and Dominique or forg- ing a close relationship like the one they have because she does not want them to engage in the types of behaviors Patrick and Dominique engage in.

Think about this situation from both sides. Patrick and Dominique see their friendship as harmless. It does not directly affect their work, and it offers them something to look forward to when they go to work each day. They enjoy having someone at work who understands and can empathize when things get stressful. But from Suzanne’s perspective, Patrick and Domi- nique’s friendship is a threat to her and the organization. Who is right? How can this issue be best resolved? Should Suzanne talk about this issue with Patrick and Dominique?

In this situation, we see the importance of a number of business and professional communi- cation concepts, including formal and informal communication, conflict management, rela- tionship maintenance, and expressing negative emotion. We touch on each of these specific aspects of business and professional communication, and many more, in this chapter.

In this text, you have the opportunity to examine interpersonal communication in a range of contexts, including everyday conversations, friendships, family interactions, romantic relationships, and mediated settings. In Chapter 6, we focus specifically on interpersonal

Section 6.1Business and Professional Communication

communication in business and professional settings such as the workplace and classroom. We examine the requirements for effective communication in these environments, consider the types of formal and informal relationships that we can have, and explore how communi- cation in such environments differs from interactions in our personal lives. This chapter ends with a discussion about suggestions for successful interpersonal business and professional communication.

6.1 Business and Professional Communication Almost everyone is employed at some sort of job during their lifetime. It may be a part-time summer job between school semesters, a volunteer position with a charity or nonprofit orga- nization, or a full-time career. Considering the various types of jobs available to you, how would you respond if someone asked you, “Why do you work?” Many people would say, “I work because I have to,” or, “I work to pay the bills.” Although these are our primary reasons for working, and are certainly important, most of us derive additional, important benefits from our work. The nonmonetary rewards from our jobs fall into two main categories: self- fulfillment—the feelings of competence, recognition, and personal reward from knowing a job and doing it well—and social interaction—the feeling of being part of a team and having social relationships with coworkers. We maintain these business relationships through com- munication, which we also use to seek and share information, make decisions, coordinate and complete tasks, and influence and motivate others in business and professional contexts (Myers, Seibold, & Park, 2011).

Business and professional communication (BPC) is a broad communication context that includes all of the different forms of messages exchanged in the workplace or in a professional setting. This definition can include written and oral communication, both verbal and nonver- bal, and can also take place in digital or mediated contexts. Additionally, BPC encompasses the gathering and dissemination of information that is relevant to that particular business setting, as well as the promotion of a specific product, service, or organization. Advertising, public relations, marketing, crisis and reputation management, human resources, event plan- ning, and corporate communications are all areas of BPC, and BPC in all of these specific areas involves how coworkers or members of a professional organization relate interpersonally.

Communication in these professional settings is not solely about the work that we do. We also communicate with our colleagues at work because we like them. We build interper- sonal relationships with them that we wish to maintain, and we give and receive social support from them. In fact, the interpersonal component of our business and professional relationships is vital. For example, a study examining the demands of work found that sup- port from peers in the workplace buffered employees from the negative health effects of job stress and strain, which then reduced employee mortality (Shirom, Toker, Alkaly, Jacobson, & Balicer, 2011). Arie Shirom and colleagues also found that this colleague support, which involved immediate coworkers being friendly and helpful with solving problems, reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety (Shirom et al., 2011). This also includes employees who telecommute—that is, employees who work from a remote location, usually from home or a different office. Telecommuters perceive greater support from their superiors than those who work full-time in an office setting, which then contributes to them reaching their work goals and feeling more engaged with their work (Masuda, Holschlag, & Nicklin, 2017). Thus, our interpersonal relationships in the workplace can positively impact our

Section 6.1Business and Professional Communication

health and our productivity in multiple important ways, and this chapter focuses on this and other interpersonal aspects of BPC.

The Importance of Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2018), Americans spend an average of 8.6 hours working during a typical workday. This significant time devoted to working drives home the importance of competent communication in business and professional settings. Inter- personal and written communication skills are some of the most important skills you can develop to help you achieve your academic and professional goals. In business, government, and other professional fields, people communicate to share information, to persuade others, to reach goals and obtain results, and to form positive relationships with clients and custom- ers (Picardi, 2001).

A number of organizations conduct surveys of employers to determine which skills are important for employers and find that vari- ous forms of communication are consis- tently rated as important. For example, each year, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) asks employers to rate the importance of 10 skills and quali- ties on a scale of 1 through 5, with 1 repre- senting “not important” and 5 representing “extremely important.” The top three skills are written communication skills, problem- solving skills, and teamwork, abilities that are directly related to interpersonal com- munication (NACE, 2018). The skills of obtaining and processing information, writ- ing reports, and selling or influencing oth- ers are also an integral part of interpersonal communication in the workplace. Time and again, employers also report that they value listening, leadership, management of others, and multicultural awareness and sensitivity (Hansen & Hansen, n.d.).

A similar employer survey asked business executives about the top 10 most important soft skills, or the intangible interpersonal qualities and personal attributes that job seekers need, in addition to the hard skills, or the technical knowledge and expertise required for a par- ticular job (Robles, 2012). Three of the 10 most important soft skills directly involve inter- personal communication skills: communication (ranked second), interpersonal skills (fifth), and teamwork skills (ninth; Robles, 2012). Indeed.com, a popular job website, also includes effective communication skills, teamwork, and conflict resolution in its list of most sought- after soft skills to list on a cover letter or resume (n.d.).

Though employers consistently rate communication as an important skill, job seekers, espe- cially millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996), may not be doing an effective job presenting such skills to prospective employers. A survey conducted by an online career network, Beyond.com (2013), polled 6,000 job seekers and veteran human resource (HR) professionals, finding a substantial difference between how millennials view themselves as employee prospects and how HR professionals perceive such candidates. Though 66% of the millennials rated themselves as team players, only 22% of HR professionals agreed that

Jett Productions Inc/The Image Bank/Getty Images ሁ Employers need and want employees who

have good communications skills in a range of interpersonal and group situations.

Section 6.1Business and Professional Communication

the millennials would work well in a team (Beyond.com, 2013). In addition, 65% of the mil- lennials felt that their interpersonal communication skills were strong, but only 14% of the HR professionals agreed with this assessment. On a positive note, 86% of HR professionals viewed millennials as tech-savvy, while 39% viewed them as fun-loving.

These perceptual differences may be discouraging for job seekers, but one way to overcome such hurdles is to learn more about interpersonal communication, which can give job seekers an important advantage because they will know how to better communicate who they are and what skills they can offer employers. The simple fact is that employers need and want people who have good communication skills and are competent communicators in a variety of ways.

Workplace Communication Behaviors Research on BPC aims to identify and understand the types of communication that occur in the workplace. A study by Joann Keyton and her colleagues (2013) pinpointed four rou- tine forms of workplace communication that can help evaluate employee effectiveness. The researchers sought to determine which communication behaviors individuals use frequently in the workplace and how these messages are evaluated by coworkers (Keyton et al., 2013). This study defined workplace communication behaviors as social behaviors that employ- ees engage in with coworkers, which then create connections between individual employees and the larger organization. Workplace communication behaviors

• serve important functions, • are undertaken to accomplish goals, • are interactive because they involve other individuals, • are learnable, and • are observable.

Keyton and colleagues (2013) argue that it is important to identify these behaviors because they are relevant to how organizations evaluate employee performance, compe- tence, and skill.

To identify these behaviors in the workplace, Keyton and colleagues (2013) conducted two studies. The first study helped researchers generate a list of workplace behaviors that were communicative in nature. The second study then allowed researchers to organize the list of behaviors into broader categories and examine each category in relation to effectiveness—an employee’s perceived ability in that particular area—and communication competence. Four broad workplace communication behavior categories emerged from Keyton and colleagues’ analysis (2013):

• information sharing: task-related behaviors such as explaining, solving problems, giving feedback and advice, and asking and answering questions

• relational maintenance: interpersonal relationship-focused actions such as creat- ing relationships, engaging in small talk, and being humorous

• expressing negative emotion: complaints or frustrations about work or the workplace

• organizing: administrative-type behaviors such as scheduling and planning, person- nel management, and problem solving

There are elements of each of these four categories in the scenario described at the beginning of the chapter. Patrick and Dominique share information about the policies of the firm where

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

they work, and each also expresses negative emotions about their boss, Suzanne. Suzanne is organizing as she attempts to understand the friendship between her two employees and its possible influence on their coworkers and the organization. Throughout the scenario, Patrick, Dominique, and Suzanne are also independently attempting to maintain workplace relation- ships by trying to work through the situation (though it might be more constructive if they communicated and worked through concerns as a team).

In Keyton and colleagues’ research, engaging in information sharing, maintaining relation- ships, and organizing were perceived by participants as appropriate and effective workplace communication behaviors (2013). Further, although information sharing and maintaining relationships are often viewed by researchers as important factors in workplace communica- tion processes, organization behaviors and the expression of negative emotion are important additional behaviors that help communication scholars understand how individuals in busi- ness and professional settings communicate.

6.2 How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

Though BPC tends to focus on how colleagues communicate with one another about business and professional matters, interpersonal messages and relationships among colleagues are also important aspects of BPC and are integral to workplace success. As we have seen, social support from our colleagues helps buffer against negative health effects that stem from work (Birmingham & Holt-Lunstad, 2018) and contributes to productivity and other constructive workplace outcomes (Wagner et al., 2015); also, employers recognize and seek out the value of interpersonal communication when hiring new employees. The next sections explore addi- tional ways that interpersonal communication can enhance your success at work and your career advancement.

Professionalism The term professional is applied to occupations or activities related to work or careers that require certain skills, competence, or character. The related concept of professionalism refers to the principles of behavior and communication that are appropriate and effective in these more formal settings. Professionalism is an important soft skill in the workplace (Robles, 2012). The Center for Professional Excellence (CPE), which conducts an annual survey on professionalism in the workplace, reported in 2015 (the last year the survey was conducted) that HR professionals and managers designate a number of components of pro- fessionalism, including being focused, punctual/attentive, humble, diligent, and having com- munication skills. Many of these components are directly related to verbal and nonverbal communication skills necessary to communicate with others in business and professional settings. However, these skills are lacking in recent graduates: The most recent annual NACE survey (2018) found that 89.4% of students felt they were proficient in professionalism/ work ethic but that only 42.5% of employers agreed.

The communication skills discussed thus far in this text apply to professional settings just as much as they do to other environments. However, the context of a professional environment, such as the college classroom or the workplace, imposes some specific requirements on the ways that individuals communicate. Some of the most important requirements for conveying

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

professionalism are outlined in the following sections. Many of the elements are central in business and professional settings but are important in our personal lives as well.

Formal Language Formal language is more careful, articulate, and mannered than everyday speech. It is used to express serious thought and is clear, accurate, and not overly emotional. As we noted in Chapter 4 when discussing verbal communication, formal language is the standard and appropriate form of commu- nication in the academic world, in most pro- fessional settings, with clients and custom- ers, in professional and technical writing, and in public speaking situations. Formal language avoids idioms, popular slang, biased language, and verbal fillers such as “like.” Recall from Chapter 4 that biased lan- guage includes racist, sexist, ablest, and homophobic language, so it is wise to con- sider how others might prefer to be described and be culturally sensitive when selecting terms that others may find demeaning. In these ways, using formal language con- veys professionalism and the principle of taking responsibility for how you communicate that we introduced in Chapter 1.

If we have established a familiar relationship with someone, we often use slang expressions in our conversations, e-mails, and texts, and we worry less about using correct punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. It can be argued that everyday conversations, social net- work posts, text messages, and personal e-mails have conditioned us to respond quickly and briefly to messages via both mediated and face-to-face channels. Specifically, Larry Rosen and his colleagues (2010) found that individuals with some or no college education who used more brief language in their electronic interactions (called textisms) also created formal writ- ing that was of lower quality. This was also the case for individuals with some college educa- tion who sent more text and instant messages. As a result of using more of these textisms, when we must deliver an oral presentation at work or send a well-written letter or e-mail to a customer, we may be unsure how best to proceed. Failing to recognize the necessity of a more formal communication style in a professional setting is a significant mistake that people make in the classroom and workplace.

However, formal communication matters: Poor verbal skills during an interview, including incorrect grammar, often have negative consequences for job candidates (CPE, 2012) and can leave a bad impression on coworkers or clients. So, it is wise to write (e.g., use grammar and spell checks, avoid casual language, etc.) and speak (e.g., use mutually-recognized jargon instead of slang, do not speak in hashtags or abbreviations, etc.) in class and at work more formally than you communicate via text and on social media. In sum, it is a good idea to treat education and work environments as formal language environments in which you put your best professional foot forward.

James Woodson/Photodisc/Thinkstock ሁ We often use informal language when we

have a familiar relationship with someone, but formal language should be used in academic and professional settings.

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

Integrity Plagiarizing, lying, cheating, missing deadlines, and not doing what you say you will do are behaviors that demonstrate a lack of integrity. Crucial for both personal and professional success, integrity involves behaving and communicating honestly and ethically, being true to your word, and honoring your commitments. Having integrity reflects two of our compe- tent interpersonal communication principles: taking responsibility for your communication behavior and respecting others and yourself. Business executives rank integrity as the most important soft skill in the workplace (Robles, 2012), and Indeed.com (n.d.) lists integrity as an important soft skill that employers seek in job candidates. Lack of integrity affects your reputation and undermines others’ trust in you and thus negatively affects your professional- ism. It is extremely difficult to restore trust in a relationship once it is broken.

Plagiarism, for example, is an important example of an integrity violation. You commit plagia- rism when you present someone else’s words or ideas as if they are your own. In other words, you must give the original source of an idea the proper credit, or you are being dishonest and unethical by presenting someone else’s work—be it their writing, data, thoughts, or even answers on an exam—as if you did the work yourself. Plagiarizing can range from buying someone else’s paper on the Internet and submitting it with your name on it to using your own paper in multiple courses without informing your instructors. Allowing someone to copy your exam answers is also plagiarism, as is not participating in a group project but taking credit for the final product.

We tend to think of plagiarism as just an academic integrity violation, but many of these examples can extend to the business world as well. For example, what if you worked really hard on an idea that you had for a new product idea at your company, but your colleague, who you had confided in about your idea early on, presented it to your boss first as their own? You would likely feel betrayed, angry, and even violated. That is how someone else might feel if they discovered that another person was presenting their hard work as their own without it being properly credited to them.

How do we ensure that we are not committing plagiarism? In academic settings, every uni- versity has an academic integrity policy that you can familiarize yourself with. Course syllabi also frequently spell out what plagiarism is, and your course instructor is always happy to discuss how to avoid plagiarizing before you begin working on a project or when a paper is still in draft form. In the workplace, be clear about which contributions were made by which team members in a group project, and be careful who you share a “big idea” with if it may be proprietary later. Always try to put ideas in writing (even e-mail) early on to establish their provenance.

Respect for Others As we mentioned in Chapter 1, respect is one of the principles of competent interpersonal communication. Respect for others is also imperative for success in your personal and pro- fessional life. Be considerate of others by using respectful language, being polite, and being encouraging. Someone who is respectful also appreciates diversity, values differences among coworkers, avoids biased language and attitudes, and calls people by the terms and names that they prefer to be called. Additionally, communicating with respect will aid you in achiev- ing your goals—including those in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, for example—as well as in building and maintaining positive relationships with coworkers and classmates that render it easier to complete school- and work-related goals.

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

Over the past few decades, language in professional settings has evolved to replace sexist and other biased terms with more inclusive language (see examples in Table 6.1). Using more inclusive language demonstrates respect for others, which reflects professionalism.

Table 6.1: Replacing sexist or biased language with inclusive terms Sexist or biased term Inclusive term

businessman business owner, business executive, or businessperson

cancer victim; AIDS victim cancer patient; person with AIDS

chairman chairperson or chair

confined to a wheelchair uses a wheelchair

Congressman Congressperson

Eskimo Inuit or Aleut

fireman firefighter

freshman first-year student

Indian (when referring to U.S. indigenous peoples) Native American or specific tribe

policeman police officer

man or mankind people, humanity, or the human race

man hours working hours

man-made manufactured, machine-made, synthetic

manpower personnel or workforce

Negro or colored African American or Black

old people or elderly senior citizen, mature adult, older adult

Oriental Asian, Asian American, or specific country of origin

postman or mailman postal worker or mail carrier

steward or stewardess flight attendant

suffers from diabetes has diabetes

to man to operate, to staff, to cover

waiter or waitress server

Collaboration It is common in classrooms and in the workplace to form work groups, project teams, task forces, committees, and other groups to accomplish tasks. Success in team efforts requires good interpersonal communication skills and the ability to collaborate, or to work coopera- tively with others to accomplish goals. In order for a professional team to successfully pro- duce a desired outcome, their communication encounters must involve planning, delegating, and collaborating in a way that is shared and agreed upon by the group. Thus, being collab- orative is a final integral component of professionalism.

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

Professional Reputation The verbal and nonverbal messages that you use in the workplace or the classroom can affect your reputation. Emily Bennington and Skip Lineberg (2010), authors of Effective Immedi- ately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job, state that in many instances, people’s professional reputations are not destroyed by one or two major errors. Instead, their reputations are chipped away over time by continual communication mistakes. Your pro- fessional reputation refers to how much professionalism your clients and colleagues per- ceive you to have. Some specific mistakes can negatively impact your professional reputation, including e-mail errors and communication in meetings. These mistakes are discussed in the following sections.

E-Mail Errors Professional reputations are frequently harmed by the errors people make with e-mail mes- sages. Everyone makes an occasional mistake, but consistent errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, and sentence structure create negative impressions among people who read your e-mails, as these errors can be signs of poor judgment, lack of care, sloppiness, or laziness. Sending personal messages such as jokes or chain letters, using biased or offensive language, and including abbreviations that may not be understood by others are other common e-mail problems that can affect an employee’s professional reputation. Sending inappropriate mes- sages on work computers can be harmful to your career as well; they are usually a violation of organizational policies.

Misunderstandings are also frequent in e-mail because the tone of the communication is often difficult to determine. The short, informal style of many e-mail messages can be interpreted by a recipient as terse or rude. It is best to carefully proofread each e-mail that you send to your professional recipients and ensure that its content is clear and easily understood. E-mails are also more efficient and more likely to be understood when the sender provides a clear, descriptive title for their content and starts a new e-mail chain when the topic has changed. Such small e-mail-related actions can go a long way in moving all parties on the e-mail chain toward achieving shared meaning, one of our competent interpersonal commu- nication principles from Chapter 1.

Communication in Meetings When you communicate in workplace meetings, you must be sensitive to the organizational culture, or how an organization’s mission, values, and attitudes are translated into commu- nication policies and practices (Eisenberg & Riley, 2001). Similar to societal cultures, work- place cultures dictate what an organization’s workers perceive as appropriate, normal, and accepted. In your next meeting, observe the practices of the other participants using what you have learned thus far in this course as a guide. For example, how is the power distance between managers and subordinates communicated? Do managers sit at the head of the table to emphasize the distance, or do they mix in at different spots with subordinates to flatten out the power distance? When beginning at an organization, it is wise to seek answers to these questions. In meetings, follow cultural norms, know when it is prudent to speak up or to remain silent, and know how much information to share. When the meeting leader asks, “That’s about it. Any questions?”, it might be an invitation to ask about anything you did not understand. However, it might also be a ritual to end the meeting, and no response is expected or appreciated, depending on your organization’s culture. Knowing these cues and how to respond to them comes with observation and experience.

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

New employees are often ambitious or eager to make an impression and may think that they will be judged negatively if they sit through a meeting without saying anything. To be useful, however, contributions in meetings need to be thoughtful and relevant and have a strong foundation (Wolgemuth, 2010). When you are in a meeting, be attentive and ask questions when critical issues need clarification, but be wary of interjecting unless you have something important to add. In a new work environment, analyze the responses of others to determine the type of response that is effective and appropriate in each situation. Some organizations encourage open and honest dialogue about issues; others do not. Knowing the expectations of your workplace will help you assess how to behave in meetings.

Interrupting others, embarrassing them, or focusing on issues that are relevant just to you in a meeting can also negatively affect your professional reputation. It is crucial to support your boss and coworkers in public settings. Make sure your loyalty is thoughtful and deliberate, however, not just blind allegiance (Wolgemuth, 2010).

Job Satisfaction Our professional success not only depends on how professional we are to others, but on how we feel about our jobs. One way to assess your perception of your job is via job satisfaction, which is your personal evaluation of how much you enjoy and are content with your employ- ment situation (Wheeless, Wheeless, & Howard, 1984). Any number of factors can contribute to how satisfied you are with your job, including the number of hours you work, the amount of money you make, and the number and type of job responsibilities you have. In addition, research has found that a major component of job satisfaction is the BPC in which you take part, including both verbal and nonverbal messages. We explore how some of these messages are related to job satisfaction in the next sections.

Verbal Messages What is said in business and professional settings can increase or decrease an employee’s job satisfaction. In general, organizations that stress open communication and that are willing to share information have more satisfied employees. In addition, communication between superiors and subordinates is one major verbal communication contributor to subordinates’ job satisfaction. For example, Teven (2007) found that when supervisors used positive or pro- social messages—such as being friendly and showing that they like their subordinates—to convey their power, subordinates were more satisfied than when antisocial power messages, such as those that control or punish the subordinate, were employed.

Conflict is also an influential element in the workplace (De Dreu, van Dierendonck, & Dijkstra, 2004). For example, unresolved conflict and how it is expressed has an impact on the organi- zational climate (Hample & Allen, 2012) and is a major reason that employees leave their jobs (Chen, Zhao, Liu, & Wu, 2012). The following lists specific research findings about employee job satisfaction.

• Job satisfaction is higher in companies that encourage employees to cooperate and collaborate in conflict situations (Choi, 2013).

• Job satisfaction is lower in businesses where conflict is dealt with via active confron- tation (Choi, 2013).

• Compromising when in conflict is positively related to job satisfaction (Chen et al., 2012).

Section 6.2How Interpersonal Communication Can Enhance Professional Success

• Constructive conflict cultures may reduce employee burnout, making employees more satisfied with their jobs (Choi, 2013).

• Employees are less satisfied with their jobs in destructive conflict cultures, which may increase employee burnout (Choi, 2013).

• Employees with close friends at work have 50% higher job satisfaction (Rath, 2006). • Teamwork (as opposed to just collaboration or cooperation) promotes decreased

turnover and burnout in health and social care workers (Kaiser, Patras, & Martinus- sen, 2018).

Based on these findings, how we verbally engage in conflict with our colleagues—using positive, constructive messages versus negative, destructive ones—is associated with job satisfaction.

Nonverbal Messages In addition to verbal communication, a vari- ety of nonverbal messages have been asso- ciated with job satisfaction. Nonverbal immediacy involves a collection of specific nonverbal messages such as eye contact and smiling that together increase your feelings of closeness with another person. We tend to be drawn to those who use nonverbal immediacy, and this can contribute to job satisfaction. For example, Teven (2007) found that when superiors communicated higher nonverbal immediacy to their subor- dinates, the job satisfaction of subordinates increased. Superiors who are viewed as nonverbally immediate by subordinates are also seen as trustworthy, caring, and com- petent (Lybarger, Rancer, & Lin, 2017).

Time, or chronemics, is another nonverbal message that is related to job satisfaction. Dawna Ballard and David Seibold (2006) found that multiple elements of time predicted employee job satisfaction. Specifically, individuals with more of a future time focus, where future devel- opments and long-term goals were emphasized, and employees with higher punctuality experienced greater job satisfaction. In contrast, employees who were expected to keep a faster pace were less satisfied with their jobs. Together, time orientations combine to help employees feel as if they are capable of meeting the demands of their jobs, thus contributing to their job satisfaction (Ballard & Seibold, 2006). Ballard and Seibold (2004) also note that organizational members create norms for time through their interactions with one another. How flexible, fast-paced, formally scheduled, and precise time is perceived as being in a par- ticular workplace is typically determined by the cultural norms of the organization. To main- tain positive relationships at work, it is important to understand the cultural norms related to time as well as the meaning assigned to time by your boss and close coworkers.

Thomas Barwick/Stone/Getty Images ሁ Nonverbal immediacy and chronemics are

two specific nonverbal communication concepts related to job satisfaction.

Section 6.3Types of Workplace Relationships

6.3 Types of Workplace Relationships Americans work an average of 35 to 40 hours per week, so forming personal relationships with work colleagues is inevitable; in turn, these workplace relationships can contribute to an organization’s effectiveness. We examine different categories of workplace relationships in this section.

Formal Relationships The primary relationship in business and professional settings is the formal relationship, which involves the many associations and networks that are designed and dictated by the business or organization. The formal relationships in a business setting should be clear to every employee, whether there are three employees or 300,000. Formal relationships allow employees to know who they need to communicate with to accomplish a particular task and who is responsible for which other employees. These relationships are defined by each employee’s job title or position and can be depicted visually in an organizational flowchart. The interactions that occur in formal relationships are what keep an organization going; they could be considered the lifeblood of an organization.

These formal relationships can be further broken down according to the power differentials between each employee, or whether the work-related communication is vertical (downward and upward) or horizontal (lateral) in nature. In a business or professional context, verti- cal formal communication occurs between individuals at different power levels. When a business’s CEO sends an e-mail to all of her employees about a new company policy or when a professor talks to a student about a grade, vertical communication is happening. Vertical formal communication can be broken down further based on who initiates the interaction. When a superior begins an interaction with a subordinate (someone lower in the company hierarchy), this is an example of vertical downward communication. This type of communi- cation could occur in the scenario at the beginning of the chapter if Suzanne initiated a con- versation with Patrick and Dominique about their workplace friendship. Conversely, when a subordinate starts communicating with a superior, they engage in a vertical upward commu- nication interaction. In the scenario, for example, Patrick and Dominique could communicate their concerns directly to Suzanne.

Horizontal formal communication, in contrast, takes place between employees at identi- cal or similar levels in a business or professional context. Two students talking to each other about a class assignment or a group of salespeople discussing their monthly quotas are exam- ples of horizontal formal communication. Work interactions between Patrick and Dominique also constitute horizontal communication because they are both lawyers at the same firm at a similar hierarchical level. Whether there is a power differential dictated by the organiza- tional structure determines whether formal communication is vertical or horizontal. Both types of formal communication can also occur simultaneously, such as in a classroom setting or a meeting where superiors and subordinates are both present.

Employees need to seek and share information. Thus, formal communication in business and professional settings helps employees accomplish the professional tasks that a business needs to exist and thrive. The importance of formal BPC also goes beyond such tasks. In one study, employees’ satisfaction with how much they interacted with their superior strongly

Section 6.3Types of Workplace Relationships

predicted their commitment to the organization (Postmes, Tanis, & de Wit, 2001). In other words, vertical, formal relationships, such as those between superiors and subordinates, strongly contributed to how much the subordinates identified with, felt involved in, and were emotionally attached to their organization. In addition, verbal formal communication was a better predictor of employees’ organizational commitment than horizontal, informal workplace interactions (Postmes et al., 2001). Thus, formal relationships are not only impor- tant for accomplishing the tasks that comprise one’s job description, but they also influence employees’ attachment to and involvement with the organization.

Informal Relationships As opposed to the formal relationships defined by a company or organization, informal relationships are relationships based on shared interests, mutual regard, and friendship. Informal relationships occur between employees in a business and professional setting, but such interactions have little to do with the company. Nonetheless, informal communication between colleagues is important. Forging interpersonal relations and being familiar with other employees in the workplace helps coworkers feel comfortable, allows them to feel they have the social and emotional support of others, and creates a general sense of community (Myers et al., 2011). It is for these reasons that Patrick and Dominique have a close informal friendship.

These informal relationships are enjoyable for those involved and can also benefit the com- pany in a number of ways. For example, informal relationships can increase employees’ enjoy- ment of work and solidify their place in the organization, reducing the likelihood of employee turnover (Myers et al., 2011). Further, employees who feel more familiar with one another are more willing to engage in communication related to the company, including problem solv- ing, discussions, and decision making (Myers & Oetzel, 2003). Despite these benefits, some communication issues can arise that make these informal relationships problematic; a few of these are described below.

Inappropriate Topics Many of us spend as much time at work as we do with our families or loved ones. We often become so comfortable with coworkers that we sometimes forget we must maintain profes- sionalism in our interactions with them. Personal disputes in the workplace can make it dif- ficult for people to work together to achieve organizational goals. To keep these disputes to a minimum, it is best to avoid discussing topics that deal with personal and moral values. The top three topics to steer clear of are sex, politics, and religion.

Charles Purdy, senior editor of job site Monster.com and author of the book Urban Etiquette: Marvelous Manners for the Modern Metropolis (2004), states that “if you make gender dif- ferences an issue at work, or if you let water-cooler discussion head toward a sex-related topic, you do so at great peril” (p. 84). Some people may be comfortable discussing topics of a sexual nature; however, many people are not. Discussing such topics may offend some people, cause them to be uncomfortable, or create an environment that they feel is offen- sive or hostile. Your comments might also be considered sexual harassment, which is against the law. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harass- ment of a sexual nature” (n. d., para. 1). However, behaviors that constitute harassment do not need to be explicitly or blatantly sexual: Teasing someone because of their gender or making

Section 6.3Types of Workplace Relationships

an offhand comment about a coworker’s body type can also count. Related to Chapter 1, in cases of harassment, it doesn’t matter what a person’s intended meaning is; it matters what the recipient’s received meaning is. Thus, it may just be safer to err on the side of safety and avoid making jokes or comments related to gender, sex, sexuality, and bodies.

Politics and religion are also emotional issues for most people. A survey by the American Psychological Association (APA, 2016), conducted during the 2016 presidential election campaign, revealed that 20% of employees avoided a colleague due to their political views. Further, 27% of Americans in the survey reported at least one negative outcome related to political discussions at work, including engaging in conflict, feeling isolated, or being less pro- ductive (APA, 2016). Likewise, inappropriate jokes that use biased language have no place at work; not only can they be offensive to many people, they can also violate company policies and create a hostile work environment, which can have legal ramifications for you and your company. Laughing and telling elaborate stories about your weekend escapades, bodily func- tions, and other personal issues also detracts from your professional image and reputation. The safest course is to keep your conversations to neutral topics. Resist the temptation to make negative comments about political figures or issues, to complain about your job, and to speak negatively about anything or anyone.

Workplace Networks It is a mistake to ignore your manager’s or supervisor’s point of view on an issue, but it is also a mistake to continually agree with him or her. Always siding with the boss can cause trouble for you with your coworkers. You were hired to be a contributor to a team effort, and your success depends as much on your associations with your coworkers as it does on your rela- tionship with your boss. Roy Cohen, executive coach and author of the book The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide, reminds us of the importance of good working relations with coworkers. It is important, he states, not to be a lone ranger. Make sure to be an integral part of the team and to socialize with your colleagues at office functions (Cohen, 2010).

As we have discussed throughout this chapter, it is also important in professional settings to pay attention to the informal communication networks that exist in every organization. The grapevine is one of these informal networks; the term refers to the way information is passed from person to person in an organization through casual conversations rather than via formal channels. The grapevine is an important way to find out what is happening throughout the organization, and you should ensure that you are a part of that conversation pathway. But not everything you hear via the grapevine is true. Gossip, which is not necessarily accurate or appropriate information, is often transmitted via the grapevine. However, this informal network can still serve as an early warning system about possible changes or issues and gives you an opportunity to check the information to determine if it is accurate.

Other informal networks might be the Friday night happy hour, the chatty group text, the company softball team, and similar voluntary events or interactions that encourage employ- ees to come together outside of the office. A great deal of information and relationship build- ing occurs during these events, and it is important to participate in these opportunities and to socialize with people throughout your organization when possible. If you have high com- munication apprehension, which we discussed in Chapter 5, you may be less likely to desire to socialize with coworkers (McCroskey, 1976). Thus, it is important to utilize the strategies discussed in Chapter 5 to do your best to make a good impression and maintain positive

Section 6.3Types of Workplace Relationships

relationships with your coworkers. Some of these strategies include developing communica- tion confidence, practicing your communication skills, and asking others for help.

Why Relationships Are Central to Job Satisfaction Informal relationships and networks are not only important for your own career advancement, they also contribute to your job satisfaction. Research on informal, inter- personal relationships in business and pro- fessional settings has found that a number of factors are associated with job satisfac- tion. One variable is the biological sex of the employee. For example, for males but not females, there is a strong, positive relation- ship between having strong friendships in the workplace and job satisfaction (Morri- son, 2009). Females were also less likely to leave their jobs when they had formed strong workplace friendships, which was not the case for males (Morrison, 2009).

How we maintain workplace friendships is a second concept related to job satisfac- tion. Relationship maintenance, which we discuss in more detail in Chapter 8, is accomplished in workplace friendships via a number of specific communication strategies, including being positive or upbeat, sharing tasks, man- aging conflict competently, sharing social networks, being open, giving advice, and assuring coworkers about the friendship (Madlock & Booth-Butterfield, 2012). Over 80% of employ- ees in one study reported that they used positivity, conflict management, and sharing tasks strategies (Madlock & Booth-Butterfield, 2012). Further, each of the relationship mainte- nance strategies was positively related to job satisfaction in this study, with conflict manage- ment and positivity being the best predictors of job satisfaction.

A third way to assess the relationship between informal workplace relationships and job sat- isfaction is by considering the centrality of an employee in a workplace friendship network. Network centrality focuses on how much an employee participates in and is connected with other individuals in a friendship network (Raile et al., 2008). This concept can be further bro- ken down into the following three related factors (Raile et al., 2008):

• degree, or the extent to which a coworker is connected to other individuals in the network

• closeness, or the extent to which a coworker can be in contact or communicate with all other members of the network

• betweenness, or the extent to which a coworker mediates or becomes involved in interactions between two other network members

The coworker who organizes happy hours and birthday celebrations for the colleagues that she spends time with socially would be considered fairly central to that friendship network.

Stockbyte/Thinkstock ሁ A coworker who organizes happy hours and

birthday celebrations for colleagues is central in an office’s friendship network.

Section 6.3Types of Workplace Relationships

Of the three aspects of network centrality, Amber Raile and her colleagues (2008) found that only closeness was positively related to employee job satisfaction at a Korean organization, possibly because closeness reflects an employee’s ability to access organizational resources efficiently. Similarly, behaving in ways that benefit one’s colleagues, such as helping someone who has a particularly heavy workload, is positively related to network centrality in an inter- national Taiwanese bank (Liu & Ipe, 2010).

Workplace norms vary by societal cultures. Geert Hofstede has dedicated his research career to examining cultural dimensions, which, as we first described in Chapter 3, he first uncov- ered while analyzing survey data from the global employee pool at IBM. Hofstede found that while the global data made no sense altogether, there were correlative patterns identifiable by country. He identified that certain countries (such as China and Venezuela) valued greater communicative distance between subordinates and managers, while others (such as Swit- zerland and the United States) preferred individual goals over organizational goals. Thus, although these survey respondents worked for the same company, the workplace norms within each country differed. Hofstede warns readers that these overarching cultural pat- terns should not be conflated with individual members’ values (Hofstede, 2011).

Challenges of Romantic Workplace Relationships As we discussed, we often form friendships at work and can forge lasting bonds with people through our professional associations. We may also become romantically attracted to the people at work with whom we interact. From this attraction, a workplace romance might blossom. Workplace romances occur “between two members of an organization where sexual attraction is present, affection is communicated, and both members recognize the relation- ship to be something more than just professional and platonic” (Horan & Chory, 2011, p. 565).

Unlike non-workplace romantic relationships, workplace romances often involve two employ- ees who must continue to interact with each other and perhaps even depend on each other to complete job tasks even after their romance has ended (Pierce, Byrne, & Aguinis, 1996). These types of relationships are quite common: A survey by Careerbuilder.com (2018b) found that 36% of workers had dated someone they worked with, and 31% of these romantic partners went on to marry someone they met in the office.

Workplace romances may be common, but they can also be complicated and problematic. They can affect not only the relationship participants but those around them at work. At a minimum, the romantic relationship may be a source of gossip among coworkers. Those who were personally told about a coworker’s new workplace romance had more positive percep- tions of the relationship than those who found out secondhand, such as through gossip or catching their coworkers “in the act” (Cowan & Horan, 2014). Workplace romances can also have a negative effect on coworker morale and productivity; specifically, there is less trust, solidarity, and caring and less accurate and honest self-disclosure when interacting with someone who is dating a superior (Horan & Chory, 2009, 2011). Another important issue to consider before you get involved in a workplace romance is that many businesses and organi- zations have rules or policies that discourage, prohibit, or restrict their employees from hav- ing a romance with someone who works in the same organization or the same unit. It is wise to check your company’s policies and consider your colleagues’ perceptions of you and your potential partner before entering into a relationship with someone you work with.

Section 6.4The Influence of New and Emerging Technology on Interpersonal Communication

6.4 The Influence of New and Emerging Technology on Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace

Thirty years ago, people came to work in the morning, checked their telephone answering machine to retrieve voicemail messages, and read the letters, memos, and notes stacked in the physical “in” boxes on their desks. Today, most of these voice and printed messages have been replaced by text messages, group chats, social media, videoconferencing, and e-mail. In the office of yesteryear, interpersonal communication took place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. when you met your coworkers at the water cooler, in the break room, or over lunch. While you still see people at work today, you can also form long-lasting relationships online with colleagues you have never physically met and know only through telephone and video conversations or online interactions.

Mediated communication has dramatically changed almost every aspect of our culture, including how we interact and communicate in business settings. Smartphones, for example, allow people to be highly mobile, to work without being physically present in the office, and to be connected to others 24/7. Mediated communication often interrupts face-to-face com- munications, however, and forces you to make choices such as engaging in a face-to-face con- versation with someone or answering a cell phone. It can also affect your interpersonal rela- tionships and require you to increase your awareness of communication contexts and modify your communication behavior for personal and professional success.

Many of the elements of interpersonal communication in the workplace that we have dis- cussed in this chapter apply to mediated BPC as well. Like face-to-face communication, medi- ated communication at work may be formal or informal, and feedback, which may be immedi- ate or delayed, is a crucial element in the communication process.

Gregory Berry (2006) reviewed 25 years of research that has compared face-to-face and mediated BPC. The study found that mediated communication is beneficial because it affords multiple individuals with the opportunity to interact with one another at any time and across great physical distance. Mediated communication also alleviates issues that are typical with face-to-face interactions, including managing large groups, assisting in leveling the playing field for employees of different statuses, reducing geographic and time difference difficulties, and avoiding inaccuracies in group recollections of information. Mediated interactions, such as via e-mail, also may embolden employees who are shy about speaking up in group situa- tions, and the lack of visual cues when communicating via e-mail could assist employees in being more focused on their task rather than on the interaction’s personal or social compo- nents. Finally, mediated interactions offer the option to take time and reflect on what is said (Berry, 2006).

Unlike face-to-face communication, however, mediated communication is often permanent. Voicemails and e-mails can be saved and retrieved later; they become a permanent record of your communication. Therefore, in professional situations, it is important to change a short, informal, and grammatically incorrect personal e-mail style to a more formal writing style that uses complete sentences, proper capitalization, and correct grammar and punctuation. A good guideline for workplace communication is to not put anything in an e-mail that you would not want your boss to read.

Section 6.4The Influence of New and Emerging Technology on Interpersonal Communication

Telecommuting Technology has dramatically changed the way people interact. In business and profes- sional settings, technology offers employers and employees the option to telecommute. Technology makes the virtual office and telecommuting possible by allowing people to do their jobs from home, in an airport, or across the globe. Telecommuting, in which an employee works remotely one or more days a week, grew 140% from 2005 to 2018 and now includes 4.3 million U.S. workers, or 3.2% of the American workforce (Global Workplace Analytics, 2018). Globally, 70% of professionals telecommute at least one day a week (International Workplace Group, 2018).

Although working from home, avoiding a daily commute, making your own hours, and being able to do your job in your pajamas might seem desirable, the importance of the interactions and relationships you have with your coworkers should not be underestimated. Across research studies, the most frequent concern about telecommuting is feeling socially isolated from coworkers (Marshall, Michaels, & Mulki, 2007). People missed the spontaneous interactions and discussions they had with others at work, the opportunities to get together with coworkers for lunch, and the ability to keep tabs on what was going on in the organization. Interpersonal communication is an important ele- ment of our working lives.

Indeed, one main reason that then-Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer put an end to the company’s telecommuting program in February 2013, prompting much outcry from employees and the general public, was to increase interaction among her employees. In her keynote speech at the Great Place to Work Conference in Los Angeles in April 2013, Mayer defended her decision, saying that employees “are more collaborative and innovative when they’re together. Some of the best ideas come from pulling two different ideas together” (Tkaczyk, 2013, para. 6).

However, despite these perspectives, research has revealed that there are many benefits to telecommuting and that this arrangement does not always lead to a deterioration of informal work relationships. Here are some findings related to telecommuting:

• Those who telecommute experienced greater job satisfaction than those who work in a traditional office environment, in part because telecommuters experienced less work–life conflict and exchanged information with colleagues less frequently (Fon- ner & Roloff, 2010).

• Telecommuters reported that the more they liked their coworkers and engaged in informal conversations with their coworkers, the higher their commitment to the organization (Fay & Kline, 2011).

• Telecommuters experienced less stress related to meetings and engaged in less office politics behavior than office-based employees (Fonner & Roloff, 2010).

Mike Watson Images/moodboard/Thinkstock ሁ While telecommuting may offer more work

and schedule flexibility, some telecommuters miss the spontaneous interactions and discussions that can occur in an office.

Section 6.4The Influence of New and Emerging Technology on Interpersonal Communication

• Telecommuting can alleviate distractions and stress and can be positively related to job satisfaction (Fay & Kline, 2011; Fonner & Roloff, 2010).

A meta-analysis by Gajendran and Harrison (2007) found that women benefit more from tele- commuting, as studies with samples that had greater proportions of females found that they received stronger performance ratings from their supervisors and their future career pros- pects improved instead of declined. Further, these authors observed small, positive effects for telecommuting on perceived worker autonomy, job satisfaction, work–life conflict, turnover intent, performance, and stress (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007).

Crafting a Professional Online Reputation The first impression people form of you is often created by your online self, before they even meet you face-to-face. Today, many employers visit job applicants’ Facebook pages and read their posts on Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram to learn more about their personality, atti- tudes, interests, and character. What they find can influence their hiring decisions (Weisser, 2011). In fact, CareerBuilder.com reports that, in 2018, 57% of employers who used social networking sites to research job candidates found information that caused them not to hire a candidate (CareerBuilder, 2018a). This information included provocative or inappropriate photos, information about the candidate using drugs or drinking, bad-mouthing of a former employer, lying about their qualifications, making discriminatory comments, or showing evi- dence of poor communication skills. It is therefore wise to consider all social media posts to be permanent and think carefully about what you disclose and how you communicate online.

With that said, it is important to note that 85% of employers who searched potential employ- ees’ social media sites were also positively influenced by candidates’ online reputations. An online reputation refers to a “publicly held social evaluation of a person based on his or her behavior, what he or she posts, and what others (such as individuals, groups, and Web ser- vices) share about the person on the Internet” (Microsoft, 2010, p. 3). Websites such as Twit- ter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, can therefore also be useful avenues for building a positive online reputation. You can generate digital content that emphasizes your work experience, marketable skills, and community vol- unteer efforts and post that information on social media. Of course, the information you post must be accurate. Your goal is to highlight positive aspects of yourself as you would in a resume and to enhance your image, not to fabricate it. Maintaining a well-written blog, writ- ing articles, or posting well-reasoned responses to forums on serious topics can also enhance your image as a potential employee. Many employers today even expect those with estab- lished careers to have an online presence. In fact, 47% of employers are less likely to call a candidate in for an interview if they can’t find an online presence for them (CareerBuilder, 2018a). The IPC in the Digital Age feature offers some tips for preparing your online reputa- tion before a job search.

IPC in the Digital Age: Cleaning up Your Online Self Before an Interview Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to share information in new ways. People can see your photos, read your recent thoughts, and see what others say about you. Many companies have hired individuals to specifically spend the bulk of the hiring season looking through social media sites and “friending” or following potential employees to judge whether or not they might be a good fit for the company. To that end, when you are looking for a job, it’s a good idea to filter through your online self. The following are some useful steps to accomplish that:

1. First, create a LinkedIn account and use it to showcase your professional qualifica- tions and to connect with potential business contacts, including current and former professors, colleagues, friends, and family.

2. Conduct an Internet search of yourself to ensure that there is no inaccurate or com- promising information about you online.

3. Set all your Facebook photos (except your current profile picture) to private. Delete or untag yourself from any online photos that show you engaging in unprofessional behaviors. Remove online references to smoking because some companies screen out smokers due to health plan costs.

4. Set all your Facebook status updates to private, and then go through all your status updates and remove controversial content. Remember, things can be taken out of con- text and potentially offensive or insensitive statements can cause problems.

5. If someone that you do not know sends you a friend request on Facebook or starts to follow you on Twitter or Instagram, conduct an online search of that person to see if he or she is affiliated with a company where you have applied for a job.

6. Finally, monitor your Twitter and Instagram feeds, and think carefully about what you are saying or posting during the hiring process. Some individuals have separate professional and personal social media accounts, with their personal accounts set to the most stringent privacy settings. This may be an option you want to pursue.

These are all useful tips for your professional life in general, so don’t be too quick to return to old online behaviors after you get hired!

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Have you had difficulty keeping your personal and professional selves separate online? Why or why not?

2. Can you identify any additional suggestions that would help create a more profes- sional online persona?

3. Have you changed your opinion of a professional colleague based on what you saw about their online behaviors?

Section 6.4The Influence of New and Emerging Technology on Interpersonal Communication

• Telecommuting can alleviate distractions and stress and can be positively related to job satisfaction (Fay & Kline, 2011; Fonner & Roloff, 2010).

2. Conduct an Internet search of yourself to ensure that there is no inaccurate or com- promising information about you online.

These are all useful tips for your professional life in general, so don’t be too quick to return to old online behaviors after you get hired!

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Have you had difficulty keeping your personal and professional selves separate online? Why or why not?

2. Can you identify any additional suggestions that would help create a more profes- sional online persona?

3. Have you changed your opinion of a professional colleague based on what you saw about their online behaviors?

Section 6.5Strategies for Successful Communication at Work

6.5 Strategies for Successful Communication at Work Throughout this chapter, we have discussed aspects of BPC. The final section offers a number of strategies you can use to improve your communication competence in business and profes- sional settings.

Be Aware of Your Professional Communication Behaviors One of the most important steps to becoming a better communicator in business and profes- sional settings is to increase your awareness of your formal and informal communication behaviors. Pay attention to the online and face-to-face messages you send in the workplace. For example, don’t send e-mails complaining about or disparaging your boss or your com- pany using your work e-mail account; these accounts are often monitored. In addition, never make comments or jokes of a sexual nature to your fellow employees, as these could be per- ceived as harassment. It is also a good idea to be mindful of how you present yourself (and are presented by others) online, as someone from your organization or a company that you want to work for might consider certain details inappropriate.

All of these behaviors combine to develop the impressions that others have of you. You can strategically choose how you want others to perceive you and engage in behaviors that will develop that impression (Goffman, 1956). For example, if you want to be perceived as friendly in a new workplace, you can use specific nonverbal behaviors such as smiling, gestures, and eye contact while also using immediacy-building verbal behaviors like telling inoffensive jokes, referring to coworkers by their names, and offering praise (Gorham, 1988). If you want to be perceived as professional, then it is important to note and then follow the normative professional behaviors in your workplace, such as how you should dress, what time cues to follow, even how you sit at your desk. Each of these behaviors contribute to how others per- ceive you and develop impressions of you.

Remember that how you maintain your formal and informal professional relationships can be just as important as being competent at task-related behaviors such as information shar- ing and organizing. Also, similar to your workplace, the academic classroom is a professional setting, so be sure that your contributions, both online and off-line, represent who you are in the most positive and professional manner.

Create and Maintain a Professional Reputation In the workplace, make sure that you present and maintain a professional image with your written, oral, and mediated communication. Switch from informal to more formal language when you write and speak professionally, and use the strategies outlined earlier in this chap- ter for participating appropriately in meetings and building a positive reputation in the work- place. You have all the skills you need for success. Keep working to hone these skills and to enhance your professional image.

Build and Maintain Informal Relationships with Your Colleagues Throughout this chapter, we have discussed the importance of having positive informal, as well as formal, interactions with coworkers. Maintaining these relationships benefits your health, increases your commitment to the organization and your job satisfaction, and is asso- ciated with higher communication competence. Informal coworker relationships are even

Summary and Resources

important for those who telecommute. Thus, try to frequently engage in interpersonal com- munication behaviors that will help maintain these relationships, such as sharing tasks, man- aging conflict constructively, and being positive.

Consider Your Online Reputation and Communication Just as you work to craft a professional reputation in the workplace, you must also monitor who you represent yourself as online. As we saw, many employers are turning to the Internet to learn about and vet job candidates. A quick search of your name could be enough to put you out of the running for a job if you post or share inappropriate, overly personal, or biased or derogatory information online.

In addition, a CPE survey (2015) found that one major way to damage your professional reputation is to abuse the Internet and emerging technologies at work, including excessively tweeting or visiting social media sites, texting at inappropriate times, and using your work cell phone for personal phone calls. In this survey, the percentage of HR professionals and managers reporting these abuses by their employees markedly increased between 2014 and 2015 by 37.8% (CPE, 2015). Thus, be aware of how you are using computer-mediated com- munication in professional contexts, and limit your usage to work-related tasks whenever possible.

Summary and Resources One of the most important benefits of working is the network of social interactions and rela- tionships you form with colleagues. Some of these workplace relationships may last a life- time. Communication is an important component of professional settings, and the profes- sional environment has specific requirements for behavior and communication.

First, it is important to recognize that professional settings require the use of more formal language. When you communicate in the workplace or the classroom, you must remember to modify your communication to this more formal style. Second, communicating with others honestly and ethically, in both oral and written communication, is essential to your personal and professional integrity. Plagiarizing, providing false information to others, lying, cheating, and avoiding deadlines all demonstrate a lack of integrity. These behaviors negatively impact your professional reputation and can cause others to distrust you.

Respect for others and personal responsibility are also crucial requirements for both profes- sional and personal interactions. Respect is demonstrated by using appropriate language, by being polite, and by encouraging others. It also involves valuing differences in race, ethnicity, gender, age, and physical ability; avoiding biased language and attitudes; and calling people by the terms or names that they prefer.

To be a professional, you must have job skills, perform your job well, be able to work inde- pendently, and get the job done on time. People in professional environments must also be able to work as members of a team and collaborate well with others to meet organizational goals. Additionally, it is important to understand and adhere to the policies and norms of an organization concerning workplace relationships.

Good communication skills are highly valued by employers, and your professional reputa- tion is built and maintained through your communication. Mistakes in interpersonal and

Summary and Resources

online communication can erode your reputation over time and affect your career progres- sion. Sending inappropriate e-mail messages and making e-mail errors, having inappropriate communication in meetings, discussing inappropriate topics at work, and ignoring workplace social and communication networks such as the grapevine and company activities and events have contributed to the demise of many careers.

Technology has dramatically changed the ways in which we communicate with others. While you can remain anonymous when you communicate online, you can also use mediated com- munication channels to enhance your personal and professional image and to create a favor- able online impression. Many employers visit social networking sites and other websites to learn more about people they might consider hiring. Your online image can be an important aspect of your professional success.

Critical Thinking and Discussion Questions 1. Consider your own employment experiences. What behaviors and messages contrib-

ute to your professional reputation at work and online? How do you work to craft your professional reputation?

2. According to the information presented in the chapter, which communication mes- sages and relationships at work are most important for your job satisfaction? Do your own experiences mirror such assessments?

3. Review the relationship maintenance behaviors identified in the chapter that are specific to business and professional settings. Which behaviors do you use and which are most beneficial for your interpersonal relationships at work? Do such behaviors work well in certain situations but not in others?

4. As you read, technology makes telecommuting a more accessible option for compa- nies and employees. If you have worked as a telecommuting employee, what aspects of this option worked well? What aspects were more challenging? Based on what you have read in this chapter, do you think telecommuting is helpful or harmful for a company? If you were a company CEO, what would your policy on telecommuting be?

5. Revisit the section of this chapter that discusses workplace relationships. If you have ever been involved in a workplace romance, do you think it made a difference in terms of your credibility at work and your professional reputation? Why or why not? Now consider how you might respond if you knew two of your colleagues were in a romantic relationship. Would this relationship alter your assessment of their profes- sional reputations? Would it influence your workplace interactions with them?

Key Terms betweenness A factor of network central- ity that emphasizes the extent to which a coworker mediates or becomes involved in interactions between two other network members.

business and professional communica- tion (BPC) A broad communication con- text that includes all of the different forms of messages exchanged in the workplace or in a professional setting.

Summary and Resources

closeness A factor of network central- ity that emphasizes the extent to which a coworker can be in contact or communicate with all other members of the network.

collaborate To work cooperatively with others to accomplish goals.

colleague support Connections with immediate coworkers who are friendly and helpful with solving problems.

degree A factor of network centrality that emphasizes the extent to which a coworker is connected to other individuals in the network.

downward communication A type of vertical formal communication that occurs when a superior begins an interaction with a subordinate.

expressing negative emotion Workplace communication behavior that involves complaints about work or workplace frustrations.

formal relationship The primary relation- ship in business and professional settings, which involves the many associations and networks that are designed and dictated by the business organization.

grapevine An informal communication network among employees in the workplace that carries messages, including gossip, throughout an organization.

hard skills Technical knowledge or exper- tise required for a particular job.

horizontal formal communication Com- munication in a business and professional context that occurs between individuals who are at identical or similar levels of hierarchy.

informal relationships Relationships in business and professional settings that are based on shared interests, mutual regard, and friendship.

information sharing Workplace task- related behaviors such as explaining, solv- ing problems, giving feedback and advice, and asking and answering questions.

integrity A term applied to someone who practices honest and ethical behaviors and communications.

job satisfaction An individual’s personal appraisal of how much he or she enjoys and is content with an employment situation.

network centrality The extent to which an employee participates in and is connected with other individuals in a friendship network.

nonverbal immediacy A collection of specific nonverbal messages such as eye contact and smiling that increase one’s feel- ings of closeness with another person.

online reputation The social evaluation of a person’s character and behavior as pre- sented in online settings.

organizational culture The way that an organization’s mission, values, and attitudes are translated into communication policies and practices.

organizing Workplace communication administrative-type behaviors such as scheduling and planning, personnel man- agement, and problem solving.

professional reputation The amount of professionalism that one is perceived to have by one’s clients and colleagues.

Summary and Resources

professionalism Principles of behavior and communication that are appropriate and effective in business and professional settings.

relational maintenance Workplace inter- personal relationship-focused behaviors such as creating relationships, engaging in small talk, and being humorous.

soft skills Intangible interpersonal quali- ties and personal attributes that employers consider when hiring employees.

telecommute An arrangement in a busi- ness and professional context that allows employees to perform their regular work via mediated technology at an offsite location.

upward communication A type of verti- cal formal communication that occurs when a subordinate begins an interaction with a superior.

vertical formal communication Com- munication in a business and professional context that occurs between individuals at different power levels.

workplace communication behav- iors The social behaviors that employees engage in with coworkers, which then cre- ate connections between individual employ- ees and the larger organization.