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Submitted by Mike Grenville on Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:48 |
Etiquette amongst UK office workers is struggling to keep up with the rise of electronic communications according to a study from ntl:Telewest Business.
Would you consider it rude if you hadn't received a reply to an email within a morning? Almost half of UK office workers would, according to the study. Five per cent of people would consider it rude if they hadn't received an email response within five minutes of sending it.
The study, called 'Digital Etiquette', revealed that UK office workers are confused as to how and when they should use digital communication tools. Many people felt IM and text messages were simply not appropriate for certain aspects of office work. Less than one in 10 respondents felt SMS and IM were appropriate for HR issues, financial discussions and liaising with senior management.
There also appears to be a lack of tolerance when using modern communication tools. Two out of every five people would expect a response to an SMS within an hour before considering it rude, and almost a quarter of people would expect a response within five minutes to an IM.
Despite that, many people have not yet formed a judgement on how long it is considered rude to wait for a reply, implying that digital etiquette is still being formulated and confusion is rife.
Stephen Beynon, MD, ntl:Telewest Business, said: "The British are renowned for their manners, so it is important that as and when these tools become more widely known, businesses give guidelines to their staff on how to use them efficiently. ntl:Telewest Business commissioned the Digital Etiquette study to help businesses formulate clear guidelines on what is and what is not acceptable when using modern communications. If businesses fail to tackle this head-on they risk damaging relationships with suppliers, partners and clients alike."
The Kidz Are All Icons
The study also revealed that different age groups have different perceptions of what constitutes digital etiquette. More than a third of 16-24 year olds and a quarter of 25-34 year olds feel it necessary to include icons in their digital communication to appropriately set the tone. This compares with less than one in 10 people aged 55-64 years and 18 per cent of people nationally that use icons.
People need to choose their mode of communication more effectively, according to the study. The use of email in the office is prolific, but in some instances people are using it as an instant communications tool, when IM was actually designed for this purpose. IM continues to be used primarily for gossip and socialising, a third of respondents said this was what they used IM for most. Five per cent of respondents consider it rude if they haven't received a reply to an email within five minutes, implying that IM should be deployed where users need a more immediate response.
Digital Communication Etiquette Confusion
It seems that text messaging and IM are not yet on the etiquette radar screen and are most subject to misinterpretation. Some of the unwillingness or slowness to adapt to using IM and text messaging stems from a lack of etiquette. When asked ‘how long do you wait for a response on IM or text messaging before considering it rude ’ the majority of people indicated that they din’t know. With voicemail,email,fax and letter workers have a much clearer sense of the etiquette rules that govern responsiveness and language. 56 per cent of people have never had misinterpreted a fax, and 46 per cent had never misinterpreted a letter.
Professionals are also evenly split with regards to whether they alter the language of their messages (to adjust formalities/informalities) on SMS and IM. Comparatively, with voicemail, email, fax and letter, respondents have a much clearer sense of the ‘code of etiquette’ with responsiveness and with language. The statistics suggest IM and SMS are still lacking an etiquette structure.
Email is the most highly regarded tool in the office. 78 per cent of respondents claimed they couldn't live without it in the workplace. It is used for the widest range of tasks, from gossip and socialising to personnel/HR and financial discussions.
In spite of the continued growth of recreational SMS, less than one in five said they use SMS daily and only one in 10 use IM every day.
"Communications channels such as IM have emerged for a reason," said Beynon "to help people communicate instantly, but in spite of this employees still waste precious time using email as an instant communications tool. Any organisation about to implement such technology should stress the benefits to its employees but also lay out rough etiquette rules so people are confident about using it. People should be embracing these new technologies, not worrying about how and when to use them."
TNS surveyed more than 1,400 office workers aged 16-64 across the UK on behalf of ntl:Telewest Business for the Digital Etiquette study.
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