I am now working with remote teams for more than three years. Be it software developers from other countries, our own software developers in North Macedonia, or my newest team in Kosovo. Remote work doesn’t only consist of writing through tools like Slack, Skype, or MS Teams but also demands having calls either via Voice or Video.
Of course, the fastest way to interact is by writing, but… only writing can be dangerous:
– you can’t express yourself as you would via voice
– you shorten things up to save time (might forget something)
– you can’t immediately correct yourself if you wrote something wrong/inappropriate
and the worst of all: no emotions.
Emojis can help if used (correctly) 😉. But if someone writes with a little bit of temperament because something is important to him, there is a possibility that is sounds rude. ESPECIALLY IF HE DOESN’T CONDUCT THE RULES OF COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER.
To be honest, in your head it sounded as I was screaming at you, right?
The problem isn’t that one time that happens, but when it happens a lot. In the worst case, it can cause resentment towards others and also anger, which will grow until it bursts one day. This then leads to very complicated discussions until you get this back on track.
That’s the problem with only writing to communicate with each other and I urge people to learn and master the skills of common sense when writing with other human beings.
I for myself try to always re-read what I wrote and put myself in the shoes of my counterpart, be it my friend, coworker, or banker.
Sargans, Switzerland