Memo review

To: MGMT 3500

From: Oumie Ceesay

Date: November 19, 2020

Subject: Communication Dynamics during Covid-19 and Working from home

The global Covid-19 pandemic has made workplace communication difficult. From employers to employees, accessible forms of communication through email, conference calls, and live meetings have been an obstacle that many employees are having difficulty adapting to. As covid cases continue to increase across the states, work from home orders by the CDC have been mandated. The transition from what seemed to be normal was going to work early in the morning, dressed professionally, and remaining in the same work environment for 8-10hrs a day. Now, employees are having to work from home, but instead, they’re within the comfort of their homes. With this unexpected transition, millions of Americans thought this would be a great way to get work done (while spending more time with their families) but it has been the opposite. As a result, employers are having difficulty communicating with employees; employees aren’t in understanding with employers, while employers feel misunderstood. The communication barrier is due to cultural and attitude differences, race, religion, lack of motivation, increased workload, and work standards.

When it comes to culture, there tends to be a misunderstanding in communication between two or more parties. Especially now, this has become more challenging as people are required to maintain a socially distanced interaction. As employers seek to establish a diverse work environment for inclusivity, they must be tolerant of all people from different social backgrounds. In doing this, they’ll ensure an effective and cohesive flow of communication across different channels. This will maintain a strong culture of communication between leaders, employers and employees will be able to work together and meet business goals. Otherwise, cultural divisions occur, where employees furlough their jobs, because they believe the employer excludes people of cultural backgrounds.

Racial divisions in workplaces lead to injustice. If employers do not communicate in the appropriate way, it’s perceived as racial bias. This doesn’t only apply to people of color or racial stereotypes like “a certain group of individuals performs better than others”. This the worst strategy if employers are trying to communicate motivational performances to a large audience of employees, especially if they’re trying to avoid racial discrimination. By “establishing clear expectations, getting a bigger purpose, building company culture down to fostering accountability, communication will always be at the core. Clearly messaged, trusted communication can either make or break operations and enhance employee engagement” (Reserva, 2020). Often times, the language in which an employer communicates, can be viewed as racial discrimination. Particularly when communicating to a group of diverse people, choosing to speak a language to a group of people who understand and not translating for those who don’t, is neglection and a failure of leadership. When communicating, employers need to understand the importance of being inclusive. This way, they can communicate accordingly to each employee's needs.

Religion affects communication in workplaces more often than we realize. For example, recently, the Nike brand created a logo on their collection of shoes that was offensive to the Islamic religion. They communicated with religious organizations and apologized for their role in this offense, but it's not enough to say it was a simple mistake. If the company had done the appropriate research before putting a product out to the public market, issues like these wouldn't have occurred. “Due to the global outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, global communication has been torn apart. Virus, infection, isolation, and death not only plunge humans into fear, doubt, and debate but also inspire humans to save themselves and find paths to cooperate and coexist. From the reflection and debate of philosophers and historians facing human destiny, we can hear their anxiety about global communication” (Xin, 2020). Covid-19 shouldn’t be a reason for companies to not coexist with one another. If they communicate properly, there’s no need for issues of religious discrimination like these.

Oumie Ceesay

(909) 441-2091

[email protected]