Today's Changing Organizations

Communication in organizations is a complex process involving individuals from multiple levels, as well as the management of both internal and external relationships. As an effective communicator, an understanding of informal and formal communication networks will prepare you for entry or advancement in your chosen career. It will be equally important to recognize the changing nature of today’s organizations.

Organizations cannot escape the impacts of situational and contextual factors within the environments in which they operate. The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 represents a perfect illustration of the impact of global changes on contemporary organizations. In January 2020, the United States saw its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus. By March, a national emergency was declared, prompting travel bans and state mandated stay-at-home orders (AJMC, 2021). These protective measures effectively shut down the US economy and forced organizations nationwide to adopt widespread work-from-home models.

The 2020 pandemic is one drastic example of how organizations must adapt to external factors. Four significant examples of how environmental and global shifts have impacted today’s organizations include work from anywhere models, distributed teams, multiple careers, and human-machine partnerships, any of which might make up the new workplace realities you are likely to encounter.

Work from Anywhere

While the pandemic certainly hastened a rise in remote work (i.e., teleworking, working from home, telecommuting, etc.) the shift from on-site to remote work actually began in the 1970’s as a response to rising fuel costs making long commutes expensive (Choudhury, 2020). The popularity of remote work was further facilitated by an increase in personal technology and connectivity giving employees the ability to exchange physical offices for home offices, coffee shops, and coworking spaces. Organizations, then, were forced to enact new policies and procedures to manage modern work arrangements while employees gained some measure of control over their work schedules.

A change in the physical environment in which work is conducted changes organizational structures and thus communication patterns. Analysts argue one enduring legacy of the pandemic may be the way it shapes where and how individuals work (Buhayar, 2021). For many workers, so-called “hybrid” schedules involving a few days each week in the office and a few at home, will likely become the new normal (Buhayer, 2021).

This shift means many organizations will rethink work from home (WFH) policies. Whether the need still exists to continue to maintain large office buildings as physical workspaces has also yet to be determined. Polls of employees indicate many of those introduced to remote work during the pandemic have little desire to return to the pre-pandemic Monday-Friday, 9-5 work schedules (Buhayar, 2021). Although attitudes about remote work can vary widely, many employees have come to appreciate the flexibility that working remotely affords, and have enjoyed the positive rewards.

What might this mean for you as a new employee in your chosen profession or place of work? Think about how you adapted as a student when public schools, colleges, and universities shifted to distance learning in 2020, leaving millions of students outside the classroom. What challenges did you encounter? What new skills did you gain?

As you prepare to enter or advance in the workplace, you will need to adapt to and demonstrate competence with multiple forms of communication technology and gain comfort interacting with those you may have never met and do not regularly see in person. Employees may take on organizational roles without ever meeting their co-workers in person, and will need to possess the interpersonal skills necessary to build informal networks without the benefit of face-to-face collaboration in a physical workplace setting. Contemporary workplace communication now regularly revolves around email and virtual collaboration programs like Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Essential skills for the modern workplace include strong written communication skills as well as a comfort with digital communication tools and technology. Further, remote work requires self-motivation and the ability to work independently. Work from Anywhere (WFA) models have created opportunities for workplace flexibility, and it is important to prepare for a work life that may look far different from the traditional work experience of the past.

Distributed Teams

The increase of remote work and WFA arrangements has led to an increase in distributed teams. Distributed teams are made up of individuals employed by the same organization, but who work from a variety of different locations. These locations can include home offices or coworking spaces as well as physical office locations in different geographical regions. For example, individuals employed in technical fields may collaborate with co-workers at the company headquarters in California, but also regularly interact with team members in Texas, other US states, or other countries such as India or China. This means team members may work remotely and also separately from each other with fully distributed teams often consisting of a mixture of office-based and remote workers.

As you begin your professional job search, you may come across organizations that operate fully virtually and others with some combination of on location and remote workers. These various work arrangements affect communication in the workplace in a multitude of ways. For entry-level employees, these arrangements may also be new and unfamiliar creating further challenges in understanding how to navigate the complexities of the work environment.

Challenges can also exist for managers when work teams are distributed. Supervisors may struggle to create environments that foster effective communication and maintain cohesion among team members. Further, managers can miss opportunities for constructive feedback simply because they are not in the same physical location as their subordinates on a regular basis. When employees work in distributed teams, managers must find creative ways for team members to exchange information and build productive work relationships with other team members in real-time wherever they may be located.

It is easy to see how communication patterns shift when teams are not colocated. Informal interactions that might naturally occur as a result of being in close proximity with coworkers or open office space designs are no longer possible. Because most interactions take place via some form of communication technology, employees must be able to adapt in order to feel comfortable and confident resolving workplace issues, maintaining connections, and creating important work relationships from a distance.

Multiple Careers

As children, we are often given opportunities to explore personal interests and engage in activities that bring joy and happiness. Think back to your early years in elementary or middle school when you were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Now, that same question is more likely geared more towards a college major or program of study. Do you have a clear answer? Has your response to the question changed as you have gotten older?

Working adults are now making decisions regarding career transitions that value stimulation, social contribution, and personal fulfillment. Research indicates many individuals are crafting a career that allows them to move beyond the traditional organizational hierarchies previously discussed in this chapter to expand their knowledge and skills as well as personal interests.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021) reported 3% of workers, 4.4 million people, left their jobs in September 2021 alone. This shift in turnover has been referred to as The Great Resignation, and is largely believed to be the result of workers leaving essential jobs in service industries that were unable to transition to remote work during the pandemic. Career analysts, however, have also identified similar movements among many professionals in industries with high levels of job security such as education and the technical industry.. What might explain why so many individuals are in search of new work experiences?

The insecurity brought about by a nationwide pandemic has led many individuals to rethink their professional goals and aspirations. Many professionals have started to ask important questions about their professional life choices leading individuals searching for work experiences that better align with their own core values. This trend towards a more purpose-driven, meaningful work-life, however, was evident long before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another contributing factor to career movement is related to fluctuations in the job market and unstable work conditions. Years ago, demonstrating a commitment by weathering long hours with the hopes of organizational advancement and promotion was the norm. Today, however, organizations can no longer guarantee continued employment, leading many individuals to attempt to diversify professional opportunities and professional growth through career movement. In other words, employees are now more likely to leave one industry for another.

A result of the shift in individual preferences and organizational changes is multiple, different careers over the course of one’s professional lifespan rather than individuals choosing to remain in one occupational role or field throughout the course of the career. To thrive in this changing, competitive market, new graduates will need to hone their networking and job interviewing skills.

Human-Machine Partnerships

One of the most recent changes in modern organizations can be seen in the projected impact of automation technology. In 2014, the Pew Research Center speculated that, by 2025, 48% of experts believe robots and digital agents will permeate a variety of segments of daily life, including the workplace, by 2025 (Smith & Anderson, 2014). Think about Tesla’s self-driving cars, Amazon’s automated warehouse robots, and the da Vinci System general surgical robot to see how this prediction has already been realized.

As automated technology becomes more prevalent, researchers and occupational analysts see huge implications for a range of industries from healthcare and transportation to customer service (Smith & Anderson, 2014). Of greatest concern is the projection of the evolution of automation technology itself which has the potential to cause job loss for both blue- and white-collar workers in some industries and may make human workers unnecessary in many others.

Other perspectives on the potential impact of automated technology in the workplace paints a much less grim picture. Approximately half of the experts surveyed in 2014 by the Peer Group did not anticipate a future where technology displaces workers. Although experts agree with the potential for automated technology to take over many jobs currently performed by humans by 2025, these experts see a future in which human ingenuity will create new jobs. In the book, Work Disrupted: Opportunity, Resilience, and Growth in the Accelerated Future of Work (Schwartz, Riss, & Fishburne, 2021), a human-machine partnership is proposed in which human beings and machines work together to take advantage of what each does best to improve business outcomes as well as employee job satisfaction.

The introduction of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in the 1970s provides a useful example of the potential for human-machine partnerships. When the popularity of these machines increased, many feared the potential for bank teller jobs to be replaced. However, Schwartz, Riss and Fishburne (2021) discuss how the number of bank tellers actually doubled after ATMs became more common. The use of ATMs did not replace bank tellers, but in reality changed their jobs by freeing up time for tellers to assist bank customers with applying for loans, opening new accounts, and purchasing financial products. This helps us to see how humans and machines work together, and provides a useful illustration of the skills and tasks humans perform that simply cannot be replaced by machines.

Much like the preparation needed for multiple careers, employees must prepare for an uncertain future and consider how to hone their unique human capabilities. New graduates and entry level workers will need to leverage their creativity, empathy, problem-solving, management, and decision-making skills to ensure professional success in the workplace of the future.

This resource has been thoughtfully designed to guide you through many of the aspects of communication in business and professional settings introduced in this chapter. Rather than rely on one person’s perspective, you have access to experts from a variety of fields as well as college and university professors who have taught business communication courses for many years.

The content is designed to facilitate your professional development regardless of where you are in your career stage or professional development. While it is recommended that you work through the chapters in the order they appear, any chapter may be useful as you navigate complex workplace environments. You may also find it valuable to save or bookmark specific chapters or sections to return to at a later time when the content may be more applicable to you.

You will have the opportunity to explore crucial skills that should become elements of your communication toolbox. Think of your toolbox as a collection of general communication practices you might need to rely on in most any situation. Throughout your readings in this book, you will see how these general skills apply specifically in professional contexts. Your communication toolbox should include an awareness of verbal and nonverbal communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills. Mastering these skills does not mean you will be able to perform perfectly in every communication situation, but you will begin to gain the confidence that results from knowing you possess the skills necessary for effective communication in professional situations.

As previously noted in our discussion of the changing contemporary work environment, your career development will depend greatly on your ability to cultivate your networking, job search, and professional interview skills. Professional interviews of various types and purposes are interactions you should expect to have throughout the span of your career, and gaining comfort in these interactions will be important in your ability to progress in your chosen field or profession. Although job search trends come and go, the ability to manage your career through competent communication remains an important element of job growth and career success.

Finally, your ability to navigate the complexities of the workplace will hinge on how well you interact within work groups and teams, and your ability to develop effective messages. Effective communication in the workplace is often associated with the ability to collaborate with others to solve problems, and to speak publicly to persuade or inform an audience. This resource will address these needs, giving you the opportunity to explore the complexities of small group communication and public speaking in professional contexts.

Effective communication takes preparation, practice, and persistence. We learn and improve our communication skills through a variety of educational experiences. Much like the effort made to learn specific job tasks, your ability to communicate effectively will be an important part of your professional success in your chosen field. This resource is designed to guide you as you continue to make positive steps towards communicating for career success.