One in five employees has had more trouble with…

Since the first lockdown and forced home working, online channels such as Zoom and Teams have played an important role in communication between colleagues. Contacts via telephone or chat functions also received a boost as a result. Now that the obligation to work from home is no longer in force, it appears that not all employees pick up the thread of the physical conversation in the workplace as easily.

“We notice that especially introverts now find it more difficult to approach others,” says professor Van den Broeck. “The online ways of communicating are an easier way for them to engage in conversation with others than face-to-face communication, which is much more overwhelming, but also richer.”

Employers want to mix

In any case, more than one in three companies (36 percent) plan to continue using digital platforms for communication after the corona crisis. Another 36 percent even say they want to bet even more in the future.

However, that does not mean that employers no longer want their employees to descend to the workplace. Half of the companies (47 percent) aim for a combination of teleworking and office work, although this is currently only the case for less than one in three companies (29 percent).

“The mix of digital and physical contacts fits in with the new, hybrid way of working, but is still not the rule these days,” says Wim Van der Linden, spokesperson for Tempo-Team. “That’s a shame, because it provides a good variety that also keeps the work more interesting and enjoyable, and it prevents the office from becoming only the place for meetings and home work only for focus work. As with many things, finding a good balance is important here too.”

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