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the future of work

My mom recently joined the 21st century. After many years of sitting on the digital sidelines, she suddenly began texting.

This may sound like no big deal. But her aversion to activities like texting on a smartphone wasn't based on an irrational fear of technology or ill-thought-out concerns for how it affects civilized conversation.

My mom is legally blind, you see, and moving from a phone with a touch pad to a touch screen felt frustrating. So she communicated the old-fashioned way: She called people on the phone, memorizing an incredible list of numbers so she could run her real estate business. Her clamshell mobile phone was an oddity, akin to using Morse code equipment in the Internet age.

Then, a few weeks ago, she decided to buy an iPhone after we convinced her that Siri, the built-in virtual assistant, could do most of the work for her. Within 24 hours, she sent me her first text. I almost cried as I replied and then received confirmation that Siri read my response to her. Hundreds of texts have followed in its wake – maybe a bit too many – but it has immediately improved her productivity while ushering her into the modern era.

So when Dell came out with a new study about our evolving workforce, and how employees at work talk less to each other, my gut reaction was "So what?" The statistics show that 50 per cent of employees prefer instant messaging or e-mail than to have a word with colleagues who are in close proximity. The trend is more pronounced in emerging markets, according to Dell, where two-thirds of employees admit to this behaviour.

This isn't a new observation. A recent Gallup research report found that "texting, cellphones, and e-mail are the most commonly used modes of communication" and that this inevitably is "one of the most striking cultural and social changes in the U.S. in recent decades" that has revolutionized the way Americans communicate. For years, pundits have been warning us that this move from talk to text will alienate us all. In a few short years, the transformation has been nothing short of dramatic. Phone calls now seem intrusive, even presumptuous. While I still like to call people, I find that, as a recipient, the first few seconds feel uncomfortable. I can't always tell who is calling or anticipate what they want.

From a workplace standpoint, doesn't it make sense then to communicate in a way that everyone now finds natural and comfortable? Maybe. Maybe not.

"All research shows that employee productivity as well as commitment to the job rise with face-to-face conversation," said Sherry Turkle, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other.

Ms. Turkle asserts that the office needs to be designed for conversation and that management must demonstrate their commitment to improved communication by talking rather than always e-mailing.

"You can have an office designed for talk, yet the leaders of the organization make it clear that they are on e-mail. Design and messaging have to be in sync," she cautioned.

While in-person conversation does have a powerful impact, digital conversations, done well, offer much to be desired.

Mitchell Kutney, the co-founder of JustChange Inc., a national network of donors who support local, community-based projects said that in-person conversations do a lot to "move the needle" on important issues, such as climate change, affordable housing and youth unemployment, but that maintaining these relationships takes a lot of time and energy. While his preferred mode of communication is speaking in person over a cup of coffee, if he can't squeeze in a meeting, he will opt for e-mail over the phone when faced with options that do not allow him to gauge the other person's facial expressions. That's because e-mail allows him to think about what he wants to say, and respond when he has time.

"People working on complex issues are always seeking more efficient and effective ways to expand their networks or deepen existing relationships, and this may have resulted in a movement away from talking, as texting and e-mail allow for [more] flexibility in managing time commitments," he said.

"I do not think the move to type or text lets us come across better necessarily, but it certainly provides a medium to better communicate more complex issues than talking on the phone sometimes does," Mr. Kutney added.

So it's time to stop beating ourselves up about the best approach to communication and do what comes naturally.

If my visually impaired mom can adopt texting as her go-to method for conveying important information, it has my vote.

Leah Eichler is founder and CEO of r/ally, a mobile collaboration platform for enterprises. Twitter: @LeahEichler

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