Miscommunication at workplace

 

figure 01  Miscommunication 

Introduction

“Communication is a rooted Latin word of ‘Communis’ which means ‘common.’ So, communication means any actions or behaviors that process in terms of exchanging common ideas.” (Numnoie,2012).

 Communication is further mentioned in (Numnoie 2012 ) stated that “ It is also sending and transferring messages from one to another to inform and create understanding of the messages along with the ideas, attitudes, and intentions of the sender.” 

 Velentzas & Broni (2014) stated that “Communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior.” As well as strengthening good relations between departments to departments within the organization, it can be said that communication is the heart of the organization.

Communication within the organization is not successful as it should be due to the communication obstacles that is the distortion of news transmission, which is in line with the Vijitjamri (2010) “information distortion is an obstacle to communication activities that cause deviations from the needs of the sender which is considered a failed function of communication.”

Furthermore, one of the experts mentioned that the distortion of the message transmission arises from the verbal communication as when using verbal communication, there is an emotion which distorts the intention and meaning which leads to a problem of miscommunication.

Iemwimangsa (2015) claims that “These communication obstacles may be the result of many factors. For example, informal communication may cause rumors in the organization; non-language or nonverbal communication may cause the interpretation to be in error; or barriers to communication resulting from differences in demographic characteristics of individuals, such as males and females, tend to encounter communication problems in the form of conversations by verbal communication which is considered as an obstacle to communication.  When the distortion of the message occurs, it leads to a lack of mutual understanding and further leads to Miscommunication.

When there are differences between what is said and understood during a conversation, miscommunication occurs.Researchers( Holtgraves, Thomas, Ky Bray, and Karysa Britton 2023)have used multiple terms to describe the phenomenon of miscommunication including problematic communication, misunderstanding, communication failure, and others. The term miscommunication captures best the lack of sender-receiver alignment with which we are concerned. Terms such as misunderstanding can be viewed as a subset of miscommunication (which can, but does not necessarily, involve misunderstanding). We use the term miscommunication, rather than misunderstanding.

At work, effective communication is crucial because it not only fosters stronger interpersonal relationships but also increases overall productivity for the company. Effective communication is the cornerstone of every successful team, as it helps to increase team cohesion and prevent missed deadlines, project blunders, and resource waste.

In diversified workplaces, the apparency of miscommunication within the organization is dominantly prominent. Employees belonging to different backgrounds, cultural thoughts, experiences, ingrained beliefs, and religious temperaments, will have different opinions on a single work circumstance, which will lead to failure of work information. 

There are numerous reasons why communication at work can be unproductive. The following are the main causes of miscommunication in the workplace:

 

• Emotional barriers;
• Perceptual barriers;
• Interpersonal barriers;
• Cultural barriers;

Most common Causes of Miscommunication in the Workplace

figure 02 Miscommunication

01 Absence of involvement among staff

An organization's overall productivity is severely impacted by disengaged personnel, who also tend to provide a lot of opportunity for misunderstandings.

It should go without saying that the work culture has a big impact on how engaged workers are at work. Managers' ability to promote open communication and create efficient strategies and procedures for it has a big impact on this. Workers require emotional support in addition to financial stability and compensation.

People need to feel heard, respected, and that their work matters in order to become highly engaged and productive at work.

Having an open door policy and promoting open conversations are examples of upward communication practices that can help cut down on misunderstanding.

 02 Inflating words

In corporate communications, clarity is essential. However, occasionally, people make the mistake of linguistic inflation, thinking they would appear better by elaborating or by being on the side of over explanation. They talk in speeches rather than in dialogue, and they write in paragraphs rather than in phrases.

Thinking carefully before speaking and making an effort to say less are two ways to help reduce this source of workplace miscommunication. Is there a way to communicate what has to be said in a clearer, shorter manner?

 03. Insufficient or nonexistent feedback

The most important factor in professional development, better work, and accomplished projects is feedback.

A manager's inability or unwillingness to stay in contact with their teams can frequently cause them to underestimate the significance of providing regular feedback.

When given constructive criticism, feedback can serve as an encouragement for growth, allowing employees to improve their work. Feedback is incredibly important because without it, how can any of us know if we aren't meeting the expectations placed on us?

A typical source of miscommunication in modern enterprises is a lack of honest feedback, which can result in subpar projects and a bad reputation for the organization.

04. Choosing an inappropriate medium

We are lucky to live in a time when there are a plethora of various communication channels at our disposal. Regretfully, this implies a lot of improper medium selections as well.

Holding a meeting with ten people instead of sending an email, for instance, can result in even more time wasted, and attempting to settle a complicated issue by text messaging would only irritate everyone.

 05. Conceptions

Within an organization, perception can impact communication and lead to misconceptions since it is a composite of individual ideas, beliefs, experiences, and views. Miscommunication might result from assuming things about other people.

06. Inadequate leadership

Success begins at the bottom, no matter what industry. This implies that in order for a business to function like a well-oiled machine, it must make an investment in streamlining internal processes, beginning with communication.

Thus, a business's ability of managers to collaborate, oversee the tasks of their team, and communicate effectively is essential.

Managers must encourage open communication to make sure that everything inside the organization functions well, that all initiatives are moving forward as planned, and that deadlines are reached. They should also clearly and honestly address staff expectations, specify tasks at the beginning and during a project, and check in on a frequent basis.

Tips for Effective Communication in the Workplace

(According to Julia Martin 2024)

01. Know where to communicate  and What to  communicate

Communication happens in many different forms—face-to-face, over email, via insta messages, and in work management platforms. To be most effective, make sure you’re following communication guidelines and messaging about the right things in the right places.(julia Martin 2024)

2.Build Collaboration 

Collaboration is the bedrock of effective teamwork. In order to build strong team collaboration skills  you need to practice open and honest communication. This doesn’t necessarily mean always agreeing on things—knowing how to disagree and work through those differences is a key part of collaboration, too.(Julia Martin 2024)

3. Talk face-to-face when you can

Perhaps the most tried-and-true way to avoid miscommunication is to talk face-to-face. If your team is virtual, speaking via video conferencing also works. Eye contact is particularly important if you know a conversation is going to be hard. Tone can be difficult to communicate through writing so ideally, you want your team member to be able to see your facial expressions and body language.

4.Put two-way communication first.

In the business, listening comprehension is just as crucial as speaking comprehension. Listening to others' ideas rather than focusing solely on presenting your own is a crucial component of working as a collaborative team.

Listening can be divided into two categories: listening to comprehend and listening to respond. Instead of listening to what the other person is saying, when you listen to reply, your attention is on what you're going to say next. When you listen in this way, you run the danger of repeating what the other person just said or missing important details.

5.Stick to facts, not stories

6. Make sure you’re speaking to the right person

make sure the right people are in the room or receiving the message. If you aren’t sure who that would be, go through an exercise to identify any important project stakeholders who might be missing.

Conclusion

In conclusion Communication – a concept so powerful that it can either make or break the performance and productivity of any organization (Turaga 2016) there are a number of elements that, with caution, can be avoided or neglected and lead to miscommunication at work. Any organization that wants to succeed must avoid miscommunication since it not only creates disagreement in the workplace but also encourages conflict.

It is possible to enhance corporate productivity, development, and growth by identifying communication gaps inside the organization and resolving critical miscommunications. Additionally, you may strengthen your employer's reputation in the competitive job market.

References

Numnoie, D. "Communication to facilitate Business Operation Transformation in An Organization, the case study of Land and Houses Retail Bank Public Company Limited." National Institute of Development Administration (2012).

Velentzas, J. O. H. N., and Georgia Broni. "Communication cycle: Definition, process, models and examples." Recent advances in financial planning and product development 17 (2014): 117-131.

Poldech, Kantapol, and Gessanee Maneerat. "Miscommunication and Ways to Improve Effective Internal Communication of the Student Organization of Rangsit University." (2020): 1502-1514.

Zolbanin, Hamed M., Amir Hassan Zadeh, and Behrooz Davazdahemami. "Miscommunication in the age of communication: A crowdsourcing framework for symptom surveillance at the time of pandemics." International journal of medical informatics 151 (2021): 104486.

Julia Martin 2024 https://asana.com/author/julia-martins

Holtgraves, Thomas, Ky Bray, and Karysa Britton. "How people perceive and talk about miscommunication." Journal of Pragmatics 217 (2023): 140-152.