Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow.

Navigating Communication Challenges in a Remote and Hybrid Workplace

While remote and hybrid work exploded in popularity during the Covid pandemic, we're seeing that the trend of working

from home part or all of the time isn't going away. And while that might be appealing to a majority of employees

worldwide, it comes with its fair share of challenges when trying to create a cohesive and effective workplace. Chief

among those challenges is communication. How can you effectively communicate with team members who are spread all

over the world? In an ordinary office environment, it's as easy as just walking down the hall, but now you're separated by

miles and oceans and while digital means of communication are useful in this regard, they're far from perfect. Issues can

arise because someone's tone was misread via a text exchange, and employees might start to feel isolated from their

managers and teammates.

Thankfully, there are ways to overcome these communication challenges, making the remote working formula work for

you to create a cohesive and effective team. In this article, we'll outline several communication challenges plaguing the

remote work world before sharing a list of ways to overcome them.

What are the Challenges of Remote Work Communication?

Lack of face$-$to$-$face interaction

One huge challenge impacting communication with remote team members is a lack of face$-$to$-$face interaction between

managers and employees. Face time can be an important element of a successful business relationship. A lot can be

conveyed from facial expressions, body language, and even a handshake. Things like eye contact and other nonverbal

cues are vital to understanding and relationship building. While text$-$based communication like Slack or email can be

beneficial, they lack the subtle cues and nuances of face$-$to$-$face conversation. Being in the same physical space as a

person also goes a long way toward establishing trust. This creates opportunities for small talk that you can't duplicate on

a video call or via text.

Typically video calls are scheduled in advance, and they have to fit a very specific time frame. Because of this, there's

not a lot of room for socialization. So while video calls can be an example of face$-$to$-$face conversation, they're still not as

effective as being in the same space as the person you're communicating with. Difficulty in building and maintaining

relationships The best teams work together seamlessly because they've established rapport and relationships over time.

Unfortunately, with remote teams, you often lose out on the daily direct communication needed to build and maintain

workplace relationships. When you truly know your co$-$workers, including their communication style, sense of humor, and

schedule, you can work with them much better. By developing these relationships, you'll come to understand these

people who you're virtually working alongside. This also applies to supervisors and the employees they manage.

Building and maintaining relationships with your staff through constant communication allows you to determine how your

employees work and the best method for inspiring them. For example, if you know that some of your team members have

anxiety issues, you'll be able to understand what triggers their emotional reactions and avoid that. An employee with a

severe anxiety disorder might interpret you asking for a meeting with them the following day to mean that something

terrible has happened and that they're in trouble. By forging a maintained relationship with that team member, you'll know

that when you request a meeting, you should also follow that up by telling them that if's not about anything bad. You could

even provide them with an agenda so they don't stress. Stress can lead to a downturn in work quality, which can be

avoided if you understand your team and build long$-$lasting relationships with them.