Communication in the Workplace

“Effective workplace communication is based on interpersonal, professional relationships that are developed through a keen awareness of courtesy, attentive listening, active participation and situation appropriate body language.”

 According to an article published by the Houston Chronicle, effective workplace communication depends on the qualities listed in the afore mentioned quotation. Courtesy, attentive listening, active participation and situation appropriate body language. These qualities are necessary to keep in the forefront of our minds as we look at workplace communication.

Tone and Formality are key tools in communication within the workplace. What is formality? This is a question that is explained through a bulleted list published on May 01, 2010 on the Scribd website. The list begins with a short paragraph explaining that, “Formality is the nature of relationship between people and one’s attitude to the conduct of things around him or her.” The bulleted list explaining the characteristics of formality continues as follows:

• Formality shows the level of seriousness in communication.
• It maintains the standard of respect in a communication.
• Formality helps determine the choice of vocabulary in a communication event.
• It helps to determine the way we use elements of communication (channel or way of exchange).
• It determines the expected way an individual is to conduct him or herself.
• Formality helps to maintain the order in a hierarchy.
• It helps us to plan well for events.
• It determines the nature of us to other people (one's character).
• The level of formality of an event sometimes determines one's dress code.

Over the past seven years, I have worked at three different jobs and the level of formality and style of communication in each of those jobs has varied. My first, and only, job in high school was at a small family-owned diner called The Country Café. The level of formality was very low-key. Most of the communication took place face-to-face during shifts. On occasion, communication would take place over the telephone, but most was in person and very informal.

My second job was a work study position on the Dakota State University campus. I spent a summer working for the Physical Plant doing lawn care. This job involved working with several levels of supervision. Communication in this job more formal than it had been at The Country Café; however, it still was not overly formal. The more formal communication at the Physical Plant such as scheduling, took place in the office. Most of the communication while doing lawn care involves on-the-job, in-person communication. Formality was thrown out the window and communication consisted of higher-ups using vocal communication to assign tasks.

The job title that I currently hold is Library Assistant at the Madison Public Library. While the communication style at the library is not what I would consider to be overly formal, it is the most formal of the three jobs I’ve had. Because we are a small-town organization, most of the communication between employees is in person. However, written and typed notes are also common occurrences.

The paper communication consists of everything from calendars and schedules, to task assignments and requests. On occasion, I have experienced workplace communication at the library through telephone calls, e-mails, and text messaging. But the most common forms of communication are through paper and vocal communication. Below are a few examples of paper communication that takes place at the library. For privacy purposes, all names have been blurred.

January 2015 Calendar

Desk Schedule

Notes from a staff meeting

Each of the three jobs that I’ve worked at during the last seven years, have all been located in the same small-town with a population of 6,500. I believe this has a significant impact on the communication formality and tone that takes place within businesses and organizations. From what knowledge I have gathered in my experiences, there are two determining factors that determine what level of formality is used within a workplace.

The first factor is the population of the town or city. I believe that the higher the population is, the higher the level of formality will be. In addition to that, the size of the business or organization will also play a large part in how formal the communication style will be. The larger the business is, the more likely it is that the communication styles will be more formal.

Sources:
What is Effective Workplace Communication?
What is Formality