71 Best Workplace Communication Statistics, Facts & Trends To Know In 2024

workplace communication statistics

The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic affected not only the world’s economic sector, but also the workplace’s communication. It has affected the way people work and communicate with their colleagues. Because more people are now working from home, the mode of communication in the workplace has changed.

So the question is:

What is the current state of communication at work? How does it affect employee engagement and productivity?

Unfortunately, many internal communicators, HR teams, and even Chief Communications Officers do not know the importance of keeping employees engaged through continuous communication.

Below are key statistics about the current state of workplace communication, as well as the latest trends to follow in 2024 and beyond. With these workplace communication statistics and trends, you can know how to improve your business’s productivity internally.

What is Workplace Communication?

Workplace communication is the exchange of ideas and information between employees in the workplace. Effective communication is essential for getting any job done in person or virtually and is part of an organization’s internal communications efforts.

A good and effective communication strategy is vital when building a solid company culture. It is even more important to get every employee in your company involved and updated on every important information concerning the company.

Statistics on the Importance of Workplace Communication

1. 69% of workers say they will work harder if they receive positive employee feedback. Employees are more likely to increase their productivity if they feel appreciated by their bosses. (source)

2. 85% of employees agree they are more motivated when regularly updated with the right information about company news. (source)

3. 63% of employees wish they heard more from their company’s leadership. (source)

4. Effective communication is the #1 expectation employees have of employers in their organization. However, only 42% of surveyed employees admit that their company has good overall communication. (source)

effective communication statistics

5. 61% of employees say they get adequate information about what is happening in their company. (source)

employees say they get adequate information about what is happening in their company

6. Using social technologies to improve communication and collaboration in the workplace can increase workers’ productivity by 20%-25%. (source)

7. During the pandemic, about 40% of employees reported that their companies didn’t check up on them or care for their well-being. This feeling of neglect can reduce employees’ morale to work, thus leading to low employee engagement and productivity. (source)

employees reported that their companies didn’t check up on them or care for their well-being

Statistics On Effective Communication In The Workplace

8. Only 32% of people rate their company’s communication as excellent. (source)

9. Additionally, 78% of surveyed employees agree that communication should be a higher priority for their companies. (source)

10. 32% of U.S. employees say their companies sparsely communicate their strategy updates to the team. These employees say that their companies only send an update once a year. This has made communication and the ability to get information in the workplace difficult. (source)

11. 82% of workers say they spent more time on video calls/meetings at work than they did in previous years. (source)

12. Over 90% of business employees prefer weekly communication from their organization. And about 29% of workers say they prefer daily communication. (source)

13. Only 7% of workers in the U.S. strongly agree that the communication level in their workplace is very accurate, open, and timely. (source)

14. Only 27% of employees are confident in their communication role in the workplace. (source)

COMMUNICATING IN THE MODERN WORKPLACE STATISTICS

15. About 46% of employees believe that the communication they receive from their superiors (and even colleagues) is open and honest. (source)

16. Millennials have the largest influence on workplace communication. They represent about 50% of the global workforce. This is expected to increase to 75% by 2025. (source)

17. Strong communication skills are one of the employers’ top requirements when hiring job candidates. About 69% of job recruiters feel more confident hiring business school graduates with the right communication skills. (source)

18. About 39% of surveyed respondents say their organization doesn’t collaborate enough. (source)

surveyed respondents say their organization doesn’t collaborate enough

19. About 72% of workers do not fully understand their company’s strategy or vision. (source)

workers do not fully understand their company’s strategy or vision

Statistics on Workplace Communication Media 

20. 56% of Chief Communications Officers (CCOs) report increasing their use of communications technology. (source)

21. Additionally, 62% say they have an increased focus on employee communication. 54% also report that employee communication is part of their top five talent investment areas in the coming years. (source)

22. To improve employee communication, the time spent on communication tools — calls and emails — has increased by 20-50% in the last 20 years. (source)

23. 85% of employees say they use more than one device for communication in the workplace. (source)

24. 44% of surveyed employees say they primarily use their computers as communication devices. While 36% say they use their smartphones as a primary communication device. (source)

25. Phone calls are the most used communication medium in the workplace. Over 95% of surveyed workers say they use phone calls to communicate in the workplace. (source)

However, the best communication medium is face-to-face because it contains fewer errors. The parties involved can easily get feedback as fast as possible.

26. 62% of businesses say they use email as a communication tool for their clients. 31% of workers say they use it to communicate with their colleagues. Although face-to-face meetings are the best communication medium, only 3% of businesses admit to using them. (source)

27. During the Covid-19 lockdown, about 81% of adults who work remotely say they used video calling or video conferencing tools to keep in touch with their company. 63% say they are okay with the time spent on these online communication tools. (source)

28. Over 75% of employees are more likely to watch a video than read a text or an email. (source)

29. Although over 269 billion emails are sent daily (worldwide), busy workers only open 24% of these emails. (source)

30. 86.5% of workers report that they use video calls as a means of communication in the workplace. Of this percentage, 55% say they use video calls daily. (source)

most used communication medium in the workplace

Challenges in Workplace Communication Statistics

Remote work is still posing a threat to effective workplace communication. Due to working remotely, many people have no choice but to work on their projects isolated and disconnected.

31. Following the post-Covid19 lockdown, about 32% of workers say communication has become very challenging in the past year. However, 18% think differently. To them, communication has “become easier.” (source)

32. Frustration increases in the workplace because employees spend over 2.5 hours daily looking for the necessary information. (source)

33. 60% of employees feel that they waste time in company meetings. Therefore, they are not fully engaged in these meetings. (source)

employees feel that they waste time in company meetings

34. 39% of employees sleep through company meetings, while 73% are usually engaged in other work. (source)

35. Only 6% of communication leaders believe they can manage employee change fatigue. This is a very low score compared to the critical roles communication leaders play in an organization. (source)

36. About 63% of workers have missed vital information that went into a colleague’s inbox while that colleague was away. (source)

Statistics On Poor Communication In The Workplace

37. Poor communication in the workplace accounts for over 70% of corporate errors. (source)

Poor communication in the workplace accounts for over 70 percent of corporate errors

38. A survey of 400 large-scale companies discovered that each company had an average loss of $62.4 million due to poor communication. Smaller companies often lose up to $420,000 yearly. (source)

39. The cost of poor workplace communication in the U.S. has hit over $1.2 trillion and will continue to cost more if nothing is done. (source)

40. About 80% of workers agree that ineffective or poor communication in the workplace makes them feel stressed. And 36% say they have been in a bad situation due to poor communication. (source)

41. Poor exchange of information in the workplace frustrates workers and can lead to employee stress. This causes the employees to underperform by 5%. This underperformance reduces “a $1 billion top line by $32.5 million.” (source)

42. In a survey, 91% of employees say that effective communication is a crucial skill that leaders lack. This lack of communication contributes to low employee engagement. (source)

43. 63% of surveyed employees cite “not recognizing employee achievements” as a top mark for ineffective leadership. 57% say it is the leaders “not giving clear directions” and 53% believe it is leaders “not having time to meet with employees.” (source)

surveyed employees cite not recognizing employee achievements as a top mark for ineffective leadership

44. About 63% say they are ready to quit their job because they are frustrated with how their companies communicate with them. (source)

45. 63.3% of more than 600 surveyed organizations say that retaining employees is much harder than hiring them. This is mostly due to poor communication in the workplace. (source)

46.  In the U.S., 40% of millennials say they contact their customers through email. (source)

millennials say they contact their customers through email

47. 42% of surveyed respondents say the primary cause of poor communication in the workplace is the different communication styles. (source)

48. 69% of employers and business executives fail to organize communication with their employees. (source)

49. Up to 86% of surveyed workers say they experience communication issues, even though they spend half of their workweek communicating. (source)

Internal Communication Statistics On Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the level of an employee’s willingness and ability to stay committed and contribute to the company’s success.

The quality of workplace communication affects employee engagement. In fact, good internal communication in the workplace improves employee engagement.

50. According to 37% of over 1300 surveyed respondents, employee disengagement is the biggest challenge in internal communication. (source)

51. Although 85% of company leaders agreed that employee engagement is a top priority, only one-third of them made it one. (source)

52. In a survey, 44% of business executives believe their company can keep up employee engagement during Covid-19. However, only 25% of employees agree with this claim. (source)

53. Workers who feel respected and engaged at work are 87% less likely to leave their company for another. (source)

54. Only 18% of internal communicators spend more than half of their working time improving communication. (source)

55. Poor internal communications strategy causes 55% of employees to spend more time at work than necessary. (source)

effects of poor internal communications strategy statistics

56. According to research, 60% of business organizations don’t have a long-term internal communication strategy. Of the remaining 40% who have a long-term internal communication strategy, about 12% do not measure its effectiveness. (source)

business organizations don’t have a long-term internal communication strategy

57. Employees who rate their company’s communication strategies as poor are 5x more likely to rate their companies poor on collaboration and productivity. (source)

58. 20% (1 in 5) surveyed business leaders say they have lost business due to poor work communication. (source)

surveyed business leaders say they have lost business due to poor work communication

59. About 53% of surveyed internal communicators and HR personnel cited “engaging teams around purpose, strategies, and values” as their top priority in internal communication. (source)

60. About 90% of employees want communication/feedback from their leaders at least once a week. This helps employees stay motivated and more focused on their tasks and the company’s vision. (source)

61. Employees want one-on-one meetings with managers weekly. (source)

62. 44% of employees say poor communication from their managers largely contributes to their project failure. Also, 31% say poor communication makes them miss their performance goals. (source)

statistics on effects of poor communication in the workplace

63. In another report, 64% of surveyed internal communicators say that communicating strategy, purposes, and values is a major priority. (source)

64. Over 74% of employees miss out on important company information. This is also one of the primary contributors to low company engagement. (source)

65. About 80% of workers want to stay updated on company news. The company can only achieve this through effective internal communications. (source)

66. A report showed that the average employee had at least 12 changes in 2019. 66% of workers cite these organizational changes as one of the major impacts on their work and internal communication. They were not adequately informed of the organizational change. (source)

67. 74% of surveyed internal communicators say they used engagement surveys, in the past 12 months, as a channel to collect employee feedback. (source)

68. Nearly 95% of internal communicators or HR personnel use email as a channel to get feedback from employees. However, only 44% actually use email statistics to measure the channel’s effectiveness. (source)

69. 3 in 4 employees (75%) identify effective communication as a top leadership attribute. (source)

70. Up to 57% of company employees believe they don’t receive clear instructions from their leaders. (source)

71. 68% of surveyed workers agree they have personally wasted important time due to poor communication in their company. (source)

Latest Workplace Communication Trends In 2024

Thanks to the Covid-19 era, many things in the business world have changed. Even the corporate sector is not left out. As more people opt for remote jobs, communication in the workplace is changing.

To ensure maximum productivity and effective collaboration, executives and internal communicators are working to improve their communication strategies. Effective communication guarantees high employee engagement, teamwork, and positive results.

However, the question is, “How can you improve your communication strategy to accommodate remote and in-office workers?”

The answer lies in the latest trends in workplace communication. Effective internal communication should be one of your top priorities. It is important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in workplace communication to promote good employee relationships.

1. Developing HR Leaders as Better Communicators

An essential and unavoidable internal communication trend to watch for in 2024 is the transformation of all leaders, such as managers and senior executives, into better and more effective communicators.

The primary focus is on HR because they are the only unit that handles all employee-related issues. The need for effective communicators grows with so many changes and challenges in working approaches due to the pandemic.

Internal communicators and the HR team need to start looking at channeling information in a hybrid working environment. 

Changes in how we communicate, such as the need for more individualized, targeted, and experiential communications, will drive the continued adoption of cutting-edge technology. 

A central (consistent and general) platform for communicating with employees is much needed for addressing the demands of the company’s workforce. A large majority of employees feel that their companies can improve communication with the right efforts.

important workplace communication statistics

2. Continuous Need For Improved Information Sources

During the pandemic, internal communicators played a massive role in building trust by providing resourceful information.

Communicators ensured they sorted through the changing guidelines to give employees trustworthy information. This role is not becoming irrelevant anytime soon.

Gone are the days when communicators pass out information from random sources. Every source of company information will first be verified. This will help build trust among the employees.

3. More Steady Focus on Analytics 

One of the latest trends in workplace communication is the strong focus on analytics. Leaders now understand that you cannot create an effective communication strategy without understanding communication analytics.

There is a strong need for insightful and accurate ways to measure communication effectiveness. With this need, more businesses are looking for better facts and information to strengthen their strategy. Therefore, internal communicators must proactively gather the results of their efforts towards communication to track their progress. 

Fortunately, there are available online tools to help gather the metrics. These tools allow you to collect continuous and accurate feedback through quizzes, forms, surveys, and social feeds. These means of getting feedback offer reliable and resourceful means of acquiring valuable data.

4. Improved Use of Employee Engagement Automation Tools

It is already obvious that a lack of good workplace communication negatively affects employee engagement. 

Through engagement automation tools, internal communicators can effectively and efficiently analyze the success of the company’s communication strategies. 

With employee engagement tools like Kudos, Peakon Engage, and Fellow, you (or your HR team) can send regular and convenient surveys to employees. These surveys will provide important metrics like team communication and employee satisfaction. 

Companies use these tools to set employee goals, analyze reports, and determine employee engagement rates and net promoter scores (eNPS).

Another reason why the employee engagement tool is fast becoming an accepted trend is that executives can easily recognize and appreciate their employees. 

From the statistics listed earlier, many employees agree that a lack of recognition or appreciation from their superiors reduces their morale. Thankfully, with the best employee engagement tools, employees can feel much appreciated and recognized.

5. C-suite Executives are Prioritizing Workplace Communication 

CEOs are now taking the initiative by proactively communicating with their employees and looking out for their well-being. According to a communication report from Edelman, communication has become very important for C-suite members. 

CEOs are often non-engaging and anti-social with their employees. However, recently, they are becoming more open and comfortable with sending out messages and engaging with their employees. 

This new trend is very suitable, especially since CEOs are one of the most crucial organizational communicators. Being open and communicative builds trust and loyalty while creating authenticity and transparency among employees.

6. Internal Communication is Moving Towards a Hybrid or More Remote-friendly Direction

With workers now operating from various locations worldwide, reaching employees with just a single channel can be very ineffective. Instead, internal communicators are now creating strategies to reach employees with information wherever they are. 

The primary focus for communicators and HR teams is on ways to utilize different communication channels. This could include: 

  • Intranet for employees
  • Employee app
  • Microsoft Team’s communication channels for project managers.

This means that internal communicators will begin to look at a better multi-channel approach to reaching employees and passing information.

7. Email Will Still be an Important Means of Workplace Communication

Contrary to popular belief, email communication is not dead, and it is not dying anytime soon. Although statistics have reported that some employees don’t read their work emails, many still prefer to receive company information in their emails. 

Employees still spend a reasonable amount of time going through their emails. 

The idea is to meet employees where they are (following the multi-channel approach), which means that email will continue to be a key communication channel in the workplace. 

So why not put it to good use?

However, not all information is email worthy. For example, swift information or conferences cannot be sent via email.

Frequently Asked Questions About Workplace Communication

1. Why Is Communication Important In The Workplace?

The workplace is the one place employees spend the majority of their time working. Without effective communication among team members, there will be low collaboration and productivity.

Good communication can improve teamwork and project collaboration. It applies to almost every industry.

Workplace communication is essential for improving internal communication. Maintaining effective communication keeps management and the team below them on the same page. 

Due to the pandemic, over 75% of over 2700 workers say they feel lonely, and 53% feel emotionally exhausted, statistics show

Workers will not feel emotionally exhausted or lonely if there is quality communication in the workplace.

2. How Does Lack of Communication Affect the Workplace?

According to the workplace communication statistics in this article, lack of good communication is one of the major contributors to workplace stress. Many employees wish their company’s internal communication were better and more effective.

Aside from stress, poor workplace communication has other effects that affect a company’s productivity. These effects include:

  • Frequent conflict among staff members
  • Poor teamwork and collaboration 
  • Low employee morale and engagement 
  • Unhealthy work environment 
  • Failed projects and unclear objectives

3. What Causes Poor Communication in the Workplace? 

Workplace communication can suffer when individuals either misunderstand or miscommunicate information. This can be either due to poor writing skills, language misinterpretation, or ineffective communication online tools.

Another major cause of poor workplace communication is poor management. From the workplace communication statistics above, many employees wish that their superiors or leaders exhibit good communication skills.

Many employees have come out to say that they rarely hear from their superiors. This neglect has contributed to misunderstandings and a lack of access to quality information.

4. What is the Importance of Non-verbal Communication in the Workplace?

Effective communication is a very key attribute for a business to succeed. We communicate with our coworkers and team members directly (verbal) or indirectly (nonverbal).

Statistics show that about 70% – 93% of communication is nonverbal. Nonverbal communication is equally important in informing supervisors, coworkers, and clients about your comprehension and attitude.

Many times, your actions and reactions speak louder than words can. As a form of communication with others, nonverbal communication includes your general body language, which includes your appearance and posture. 

Nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and body language, can be used to communicate instead of words.

These cues can help people understand what you’re saying. They reflect how you feel about what you are saying as well as how people react to information in the office.

5. How Do You Solve Communication Problems in the Workplace?

It is obvious that poor communication among colleagues in a company can drastically reduce productivity. The best thing to do is identify the causes of ineffective communication and find possible solutions. 

  • Establish a safe space for communication where employees from different departments and levels can share their opinions and feel heard.
  • Create a consistent and active means of communication within the company so employees can easily reach out to any coworker. Too many communication channels within the workplace can cause confusion and frustration.
  • Set up a proper communication channel. This involves the specific people responsible for passing information, along with their specific channels.
  • Hold meetings at least once a month to track employees’ progress and reevaluate strategies.
  • Proactively collect feedback. Effective workplace communication is a two-way channel. This means that, as the sender gives information, there should be a response or feedback from the receiver. Internal communicators and HR staff should always ask for employee feedback whenever they pass information.
  • Improve on communication tools. Not all communication tools are suitable for your organization. Most employees reply to group meetings more than they do to emails.

6. What are the Modes of Workplace Communication?

The modes of workplace communication refer to the various methods or means of passing information at work. They include: 

  • Verbal communication — one-on-one meetings, group conversations, presentations and speeches, and videoconferencing.
  • Non-verbal communication — gestures, facial expressions, body language, eye contact, tone of voice.
  • Written communication — internal letters, emails, monthly or weekly newsletters, social media (for building interpersonal relationships among employees), and instant messaging. 
  • Visual communication —  data representations, images, videos, and graphics.

7. How Do You Measure Effective Communication in the Workplace?

The best way to measure if the communication in your workplace is effective is by tracking open email rates. You can do this by using email tools like ActiveCampaign. Another key way of checking the effectiveness of your communication strategy is through employee surveys, intranet analytics,   turnover rates, and work performances. 

Research shows business managers can use management discussion boxes, focus groups, and suggestion boxes to gather employee feedback and opinions.

Start Building A Solid Workplace Communication Strategy

Undoubtedly, excellent internal communication is one of the key ingredients to a successful company. However, excellent internal communication does not just happen. It takes the intentional efforts of the HR team, internal communicators, and others who are responsible for making it work. 

The principle of good communication is clear: When you communicate with people appropriately and listen to them, they are more likely to perform effectively and efficiently. They will put in their best efforts to ensure that they produce the best results possible. 

Using these workplace communication statistics and trends, you and your team can create strategies to improve communication in your workplace and increase employee engagement.

workplace communication statistics passivesecrets.com

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Avatar of Valentine Okoronkwo

My mission is to help entrepreneurs create passive income systems online so we can ALL make a BIGGER impact while having MORE time to spend with those we love.

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