Fancy a Chat? Actually, We’ll Send it in an Email: Survey Reveals Conversation in the Office is Dying

For most of us, there’s nothing we enjoy better than a good chat with the girls. But while conversation is usually flowing in our personal lives, what’s going on with it in our professional lives.

According to a new survey, the art of conversation with our work colleagues is dying. And even worse? It’s dying at a rapid pace.

Apparently the vast majority of us prefer to dodge a face-to-face conversation by sending an email or phoning our colleagues, even if they’re working in the same building/department as us.

More than 68 per cent of the people who were surveyed as part of the study admitted that they preferred emails and conference calling to actual conversation in the workplace. Why? Well the indirect method of communication meant that they could dodge any awkward questions and the risk of being persuaded to do ‘favours’ for colleagues by helping them out with their work.

Email is the preferred form of communication for many office workers.

52 per cent of the 600 office workers that were questioned by officebroker.com said that they had become so reliant on technology like smartphones and emails in recent years that they felt less confident about going over issues with people on a face-to-face basis.

And, would you believe, that less than a third of people questioned said that they recognised the benefit of having a direct conversation with someone?

Unsurprisingly, email was unanimously voted the most popular form of conversation, with a phone call coming in at second place.

Here in the Her.ie office we’re constantly chatting and having a bit of banter over loads of different things. What’s the communication atmosphere like in your place of work? Do you enjoy a natter with your colleagues or are you much more inclined to email them instead?