Communication In The Workplace Statistics By Retention, Language, Tools, Time Spent, Preferred Methods and Demographics
Updated · Oct 24, 2024
WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS PAGE
- Introduction
- Editor’s Choice
- General Communication In The Workplace Statistics
- Importance Of Communication In The Workplace Statistics
- Effective Workplace Communication Statistics By Retention
- Effective Communication Facilitates Trust
- Statistics On Effective Communication In The Workplace
- Statistics On The Cost Of Poor Communication In The Workplace
- How People Rate Their Businesses In Terms Of Communication
- Communication In The Workplace Statistics By Language
- Statistics On Nonverbal Communication In The Workplace
- Verbal Communication Statistics
- The Most Used Communication Tools In The Workplace
- Time Spent On Digital Communication Tools Per Week
- Digital Communication Affects Team Connection By Work Environment
- Digital Communication In The Workplace Causes Stress Statistics
- Preferred Communication Methods In The Workplace
- Workplace Communication Methods Statistics By Demographics
- Remote Workplace Communication Statistics In 2024
- Challenges Within Communication In The Workplace Statistics
- Benefits Of Using Project Management Tool For Co-Worker Communication
- Communication In The Workplace Statistics By Employee Engagement
- Conclusion
Introduction
Communication in the Workplace Statistics: Effective communication is a cornerstone of workplace success. It plays a pivotal role in fostering collaboration, improving productivity, and ensuring clarity in business operations. In today’s diverse and digital work environments, understanding communication trends and statistics is crucial for organizations aiming to enhance their internal and external interactions.
The rise of remote work, technology integration, and the need for inclusive communication have made it essential for businesses to adapt to evolving communication dynamics. This article sets the stage for a deeper examination of how communication impacts workplace performance, employee satisfaction, and business outcomes.
Editor’s Choice
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics show that 86% of workers and managers stated that poor teamwork and communication are the main reasons for work problems.
- Email is the most used communication tool at work, with 52.2% of employees sending emails at least once every week.
- Around 84% of workers depend on their manager to help with communication at some point in time.
- The biggest problem with poor communication is that it wastes time, which has been claimed by 70% of people.
- Meanwhile, three out of four employers use surveys to collect feedback from their employees.
- Listening to and acting on employee feedback boosts trust at work by 75%.
- To develop effective collaboration among teams, 81% of employers mainly use manager team meetings, followed by enterprise chat tools, which are used by 79%.
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics further states that 74% of recruiters suggested it’s important for job candidates to know how to use digital communication tools and video conferencing.
- Zoom is the most used business communication tool in global workplaces, and 45% of remote employees use it.
- Approximately 43% of people used Google Chat, 42% preferred Microsoft Teams, and 38% each used Slack and Discord.
- 92% of organizations mainly use email to send messages to a large audience.
- In the coming five years, 68% of people claimed that AI will greatly impact the communication sector.
General Communication In The Workplace Statistics
- Around 70% of employers around the world say that good communication is the most important skill they want in new employees.
- Teams that communicate well can boost their productivity by up to 25%.
- Gallup says low engagement costs the world economy USD 8.9 trillion, which is 9% of the global GDP.
- Communication is the main factor that helps enhance workers’ engagement, which leads to improved work engagement, resulting in an increase in productivity (18%) and profitability (23%).
- Engaged employees help reduce turnover by 43% in companies with low turnover rates and by 18% in companies with high turnover rates, making them more likely to stay longer.
- Moreover, 81% of recruiters worldwide think cross-cultural skills are the most important communication ability for job seekers, followed by knowing multiple languages (77%) and good listening (75%).
Importance Of Communication In The Workplace Statistics
(Source: go.grammarly.com)
- In 2024, globally, employees will spend about 88% of their workweek communicating with others in various forms, such as meetings and emails.
- Workers spend almost half of their workweek on writing tasks, accounting for 19 hours, using up significant time for emails and reports.
- In workplaces, nearly 84% of leaders are using more communication channels now than before, making it easier to reach people.
(Source: passivesecrets.com)
- Employees expect good communication from their employers, but only 42% say their company communicates well overall to date.
- In 2024, 85% of employees feel more motivated when they regularly receive updates about company news.
- Around 69% of workers agreed that they will work harder when they get positive feedback from bosses.
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics show that 61% of workers feel they receive enough updates about what’s happening in their company, which is possible due to effective communication.
- Companies started using social technologies to improve communication and collaboration in the workplace, which boosted organisations’ productivity by 20% to 25%.
Effective Workplace Communication Statistics By Retention
- Effective communication improves retention, while 59% of workers were quietly quitting.
- On the other hand, in 2024, around 23% of workers felt they were doing well at work, while 18% were actively working against their company’s goals (known as loud quitting).
- The 2024 Achievers Workforce Institute report found that 72% of employees prefer staying at a job where they feel valued, even if another job offers 30% more pay but lacks support.
- According to the same report, 41% of employees plan to look for a new job in 2024, while 24% are undecided.
- This means 65% might leave, slightly higher than last year’s 61% who considered finding new jobs.
Effective Communication Facilitates Trust
- Clear communication builds trust, and almost 74% of workers would rather work for an employer they can trust.
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics also states that 68% of people said that low trust made it harder for them to work and be productive each day.
- 68% of people said that low trust made it harder for them to work and be productive each day.
- 24% of employees left their jobs because they didn’t feel trusted by their boss.
- Meanwhile, 22% said they didn’t recommend the company to others because they needed more trust in it.
- As per the Four Factors of Trust, employees who trust their workplace are 260% more motivated, 50% less likely to job hunt, and 41% less likely to take unplanned leave.
Statistics On Effective Communication In The Workplace
- In 2024, almost 97% of employees say that communication affects how well they perform their tasks every day.
- More than 80% of Americans believe good employee communication builds the most trust between a company and its workers.
- 96% of workers want workplace communication to be more empathetic and understanding, which would improve workplace interactions and morale.
- Around 70% of employees can work better if good communication processes are set up in the workplace.
- Well-informed employees are 77% more productive than those who are less informed at work.
- As per Communication in the Workplace Statistics, businesses with good internal communication are 50% more likely to reduce employee turnover and keep workers longer in 2024.
- When employees get better communication tools and skills, their productivity can increase by 30%.
- In contrast, companies that use strong internal communication tools are 3.5 times more likely to achieve better outcomes.
- Good team communication and collaboration make employees 4.5 times more likely to stay with the company.
Statistics On The Cost Of Poor Communication In The Workplace
(Source: pumble.com)
- Poor communication increases the stress level, which is admitted by 50% of employees in 2024.
- Around 43% of people say that bad communication makes them less productive at work.
- As 42% of management leaders say, the biggest problems caused by miscommunication are missing deadlines and projects taking longer than expected.
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics further elaborated that 38% of business leaders have seen how poor communication affects their finances.
- However, 34% of people said their job satisfaction has gone down.
- 30% of people said miscommunication has made them feel less confident at work.
- Similarly, 22% of people have thought about finding a new job because of bad communication.
- A report published by Expert Market suggested that Poor communication in the workplace leads to each employee losing around 7.47 hours per week.
- For someone earning an average salary of USD 66,976, this results in a yearly loss of USD 12,506 per employee.
- Altogether, these inefficiencies cost businesses an estimated USD 37 billion annually.
Communication in the Workplace Statistics show that poor business communication leads to several problems, such as:
Types of Problems | Survey Respondents |
Wasted time | 70% |
Missed messages | 55% |
Burnout, stress, and fatigue | 53% |
Lost files | 36% |
Bad customer experience | 28% |
Lost customers to competitors | 12% |
Lost employees | 12% |
How People Rate Their Businesses In Terms Of Communication
(Reference: s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com)
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics states that just more than one-third say their communication is ‘excellent’ (7%) or ‘above average’ (29%), while nearly half rate it ‘average.’
- Furthermore, other people share in terms of business communication, followed by average (49%), below average (12%), and poor (3%).
Communication In The Workplace Statistics By Language
- A Harvard Business School survey shows that 89% of employees work on a global team, and 62% of corporate workers have colleagues from three or more cultures.
Language | Number of worldwide speakers | Global GDP percentage |
English | 1.5 billion | 30% |
Mandarin Chinese | 1 billion | 19% |
Spanish | 534 million | 6.9% |
German | 130 million | 4.5% |
French | 300 million | 4% |
Arabic | 295 million | 4% |
Japanese | 127 million | 4% |
Portuguese | 232 million | 3.2% |
Hindi | 341 million | 2.6% |
Russian | 258 million | 2% |
Statistics On Nonverbal Communication In The Workplace
(Source: worldmetrics.org)
- In 2024, nonverbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice will contribute to 93% of overall communication impact, while verbal communication will only make up 7%.
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics show that 55% of communication is body language, including gestures, posture, and eye contact, while 38% comes from tone of voice.
- Meanwhile, up to 90% of people show emotions at work through nonverbal actions.
- On the other hand, 80% of first impressions come from nonverbal signals, which shows how important body language is when meeting people in the workplace for the first time.
- As much as 85% of job success stems from strong communication skills, including nonverbal aspects.
Verbal Communication Statistics
- Verbal communication will be crucial in 2024, as 86% of employees say poor communication leads to workplace failures and affects productivity.
- Nearly 70% of employees report they would be more productive if their organization improved its communication methods.
- 39% of workers feel their companies lack transparency and collaboration, which affects performance and causes mistakes.
- Employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to produce high-quality work.
- In 2024, 96% of workers prefer empathetic communication. Managers who listen and engage openly can keep more employees.
- Also, 89% would recommend their company if communication needs are met.
- In recent years, many companies have switched to video calls for verbal communication, and 45% of employees depend on online tools as their main method.
The Most Used Communication Tools In The Workplace
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics in 2024 show that Slack is one of the most popular communication tools used by 67% of businesses.
- Zoom was widely adopted during the pandemic, and now 45% of remote employees use It regularly for meetings.
- In 2024, 42% of people use Microsoft Teams, a complete communication tool for businesses.
- Google Chat, used by 43% of businesses, integrates with Google Drive and Calendar for easy collaboration.
Tools | On-site | Remote | Hybrid | Total |
Mobile phone | 52% | 42% | 51% | 49% |
Microsoft Teams | 37% | 42% | 45% | 42% |
Landline | 36% | 36% | 27% | 31% |
Zoom | 35% | 45% | 51% | 46% |
Google Chat | 29% | 43% | 44% | 41% |
Google Meet | 26% | 35% | 47% | 40% |
VoIP Phone System | 23% | 37% | 24% | 28% |
Discord | 12% | 38% | 36% | 32% |
Slack | 12% | 38% | 33% | 30% |
Time Spent On Digital Communication Tools Per Week
(Reference: forbes.com)
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics further mentioned that in 2024, the largest group (16%) of respondents said they spend 21 to 25 hours weekly on these tools.
The table below details all the time spent on communication tools within the workplace.
Weekly Time Spent (hours) | Employee Share |
16-20 | 15% |
11-15 | 14% |
6-10 | 14% |
1-5 | 12% |
26-30 | 12% |
31-35 | 5% |
36-40 | 5% |
Less than 1 | 3% |
More than 40 | 2% |
Digital Communication Affects Team Connection By Work Environment
(Reference: forbes.com)
- Digital communication in the workplace made some workers feel less connected, such as 34% of remote workers, 27% of on-site workers, and 20% of hybrid workers.
- Furthermore, 52% of employees felt more connected (remote), 46% (hybrid), and 34% (on-site).
- The same: on-site (28%), hybrid (17%), and remote (12%).
Digital Communication In The Workplace Causes Stress Statistics
(Reference: forbes.com)
- Communication in the Workplace Statistics report that in 2024, 46% of people experienced long delays in responding to messages at work, which caused them to feel stressed and anxious.
- In addition, digital communication also caused stress for many: 42% struggled with tone in responses, 38% found it hard to understand tone, 36% disliked sudden video calls, and 35% felt awkward turning off their camera.
Preferred Communication Methods In The Workplace
- Email is the most used tool, with 18% of people preferring it (25% of remote workers and 10% of those working on-site).
The table below shows all other methods analyses:
Methods | On-site | Remote | Hybrid |
Audio call | 9% | 16% | 15% |
Direct message | 11% | 14% | 16% |
10% | 25% | 18% | |
In-person converstaion | 34% | 14% | 12% |
Text message | 19% | 14% | 11% |
Video call | 12% | 17% | 17% |
Workplace Communication Methods Statistics By Demographics
- More women preferred personal greetings, accounting for 47% share and men with 40%.
- In contrast, male respondents liked audio more than females: 63% compared to 50%, while Video also showed males at 61% and females at 53%.
- As per Communication in the Workplace Statistics, employees aged 43 to 58 liked GIFs the most, with 42% compared to 31% for people aged 18 to 26.
- Similarly, workers aged 18 to 26 were the most likely to prefer video (69%), followed by 60% of those aged 27 to 42, 50% of those aged 43 to 58, and only 23% of people aged 59 to 77.
Remote Workplace Communication Statistics In 2024
- 78% of businesses and workplaces have the tools and systems needed for remote work communication and collaboration.
- In 2024, around 62% of people working from home like to turn on their cameras during meetings to improve communication.
- More than half of remote workers (52%) feel that digital communication helps teams stay more connected and engaged.
- In weekly work meetings, 52% of remote employees spend between 1 and 5 hours.
- However, 31% of remote workers say their tasks involve a mix of scheduled and flexible work hours.
(Reference: jobera.com)
- 54% said remote work didn’t affect communication, while 21% found communication slightly harder with remote work.
- Communicating at work has become harder for them during remote work, as claimed by 6% of employees.
- In contrast, around 12% liked communicating from home better than talking in the office.
Challenges Within Communication In The Workplace Statistics
(Reference: s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com)
- 60% of employees think they waste time in meetings and aren’t fully involved in them, while 40% of employees claimed they never wasted.
(Reference: s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com)
(Reference: s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com)
- 32% of people accepted that communicating with clients and co-workers has become harder over the last year, while 68% opposed the statement.
- In the last 12 months, 74% of businesses have started using new tools to organize, communicate, and manage projects effectively, but 26% of businesses still consider them less important.
How Customers Feels
(Reference: s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com)
- Around 99% of people think it’s important for businesses to communicate clearly and effectively with them as customers.
- Meanwhile, 96% of customers believe businesses need to improve communication and project management to meet their needs better.
- In 2024, around 94% of people say it’s important to know the status and next steps for their purchase or project.
Benefits Of Using Project Management Tool For Co-Worker Communication
Benefits | The percentage of people who agree |
Improved Internal Communication | 79% |
Better Internal Efficiency | 73% |
Increased Rate of Project Success | 62% |
Improved Client Communication | 52% |
Better Customer Experience | 41% |
Better Employee Wellbeing | 27% |
Other | 10% |
For Client Communication
Benefits | The percentage of people who agree |
Improved Internal Communication | 72% |
Better Customer Efficiency | 68% |
Increased Rate of Project Success | 62% |
Better Employee Wellbeing | 22% |
Other | 8% |
Communication In The Workplace Statistics By Employee Engagement
(Reference: gallup.com)
- As of January 2023, the global employee engagement rate was 23%, while around 62% of them were not engaged and 15% were actively engaged.
- Organisations with highly engaged teams report 23% greater profitability, 43% less turnover, and 10% higher customer loyalty.
- 85% of employees feel more motivated when management regularly communicates updates on company news, emphasizing the importance of transparent and consistent communication.
- A survey of 50,000 employees from 59 companies found that engaged workers are 87% less likely to quit their jobs than those who are not engaged.
Conclusion
Effective communication in the workplace plays a critical role in fostering collaboration, improving employee satisfaction, and boosting overall productivity. Studies show that companies with strong communication strategies are more likely to retain employees and maintain high performance levels.
Clear and transparent communication reduces misunderstandings, enhances decision-making processes, and strengthens teamwork. Additionally, organizations that prioritize open communication channels tend to see increased employee engagement and positive work culture, which ultimately contributes to the business’s long-term success.
Therefore, investing in communication tools and training is essential for building a productive, efficient, and motivated workforce.
Sources
FAQ.
Workplace communication is when employees, teams, and managers share information, ideas, and feedback within a company.
- Verbal communication (meetings, phone calls)
- Written communication (emails, reports)
- Non-verbal communication (body language, gestures)
- Digital communication (chats, video calls)
Be clear, listen actively, provide feedback, and use appropriate tools for different types of communication.
Technology allows for faster, more flexible communication, especially in remote work environments. However, it can sometimes lead to over-reliance on digital tools, reducing face-to-face interaction.
Aruna is an editor at Sci-Tech Today with a strong knowledge of SEO. She is skilled at writing and editing articles that are helpful and interesting to readers. Aruna also creates charts and graphs to embed in the articles, making them easier to understand. Her work helps Sci-Tech Today reach a large audience and share valuable information.