How coronavirus has transformed the way we communicate - BBC Worklife. How coronavirus has transformed the way we communicate (Image credit: Getty Images) Our relationship with voice and video chat is changing in the Covid-19 era. How should those who dislike phone and video chat handle the influx of calls? Since the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis hit, I’ve been surprised at how many phone and video calls I've made and received. In the last week I’ve had scheduled FaceTime dates, video conferences and received spontaneous communications that go on for an hour or more, something I haven't done since I was a teenager.
I’m not alone. But what’s driving this upsurge in calls and what’s the impact, particularly on those who aren’t comfortable chatting on the phone or over video? Saved by the screen Under normal circumstances, we tend to turn to friends and family when there’s a sense of urgency or crisis, says Ami Rokach, a psychologist and expert in loneliness based outside Toronto. Kim says we might be experiencing a kind of inadvertent exposure therapy. Does technology help or hinder workplace relationships? | HRD Australia. “People become keyboard warriors and we just sit at our desks and have arguments and try and resolve problems through technology.” Gately said technology gives many employees a sense of detachment which means they’re often less rational when communicating online.
“People will often say things that they otherwise wouldn’t and they’ll say things in ways that they might not choose to say them if they were actually sitting in front of the person having the interaction,” she said. “The other reality with our digital world is that everything moves really quickly and we can fail to stop and really appreciate certain moments or to bring people together to have a meaningful connection – whether it be through celebrating successes or learning as a team. If we try to do things by digital means too much, we miss the opportunity to foster those relationships and learn from our experiences.” 5 ways to overcome information overload in the workplace. Today’s workers are in the midst of an information overload epidemic.
How bad? Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar, an expert on choice, estimates that the average knowledge worker must process, consciously or subconsciously, the equivalent of 174 newspapers of information every day. “If you think about today’s world, we have more choices and more information than was ever imaginable,” Iyengar says. This is especially true in the workplace, where the flood of daily requests can derail even the most focused employees.
“The cost of choice and information overload is that people get distracted, make more errors due to multitasking, and are less good at engaging in creative problem-solving,” she says. As a result, employees accomplish less, and strategic priorities take a backseat to small, attention-grabbing tasks. So how can you effectively manage the demands on your attention and time? 1. 2. What’s the problem I’m trying to solve? 3. Not all tasks and decisions are equal. 4. Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?