IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v9y2022i1d10.1057_s41599-022-01190-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of COVID-19 on digital communication patterns

Author

Listed:
  • Evan DeFilippis

    (Harvard University)

  • Stephen Michael Impink

    (New York University)

  • Madison Singell

    (Stanford University)

  • Jeffrey T. Polzer

    (Harvard University)

  • Raffaella Sadun

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

We explore the impact of COVID-19 on employees’ digital communication patterns through an event study of lockdowns in 16 large metropolitan areas in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Using de-identified, aggregated meeting and email meta-data from 3,143,270 users, we find, compared to pre-pandemic levels, increases in the number of meetings per person (+12.9 percent) and the number of attendees per meeting (+13.5 percent), but decreases in the average length of meetings (−20.1 percent). Collectively, the net effect is that people spent less time in meetings per day (−11.5 percent) in the post-lockdown period. We also find significant and durable increases in length of the average workday (+8.2 percent, or +48.5 min), along with short-term increases in email activity. These findings provide insight into how formal communication patterns have changed for a large sample of knowledge workers in major cities. We discuss these changes in light of the ongoing challenges faced by organizations and workers struggling to adapt and perform in the face of a global pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Evan DeFilippis & Stephen Michael Impink & Madison Singell & Jeffrey T. Polzer & Raffaella Sadun, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on digital communication patterns," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:9:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-022-01190-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-022-01190-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-022-01190-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-022-01190-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee Sproull & Sara Kiesler, 1986. "Reducing Social Context Cues: Electronic Mail in Organizational Communication," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(11), pages 1492-1512, November.
    2. Nicholas Bloom & James Liang & John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying, 2015. "Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 165-218.
    3. Sameer B. Srivastava & Amir Goldberg & V. Govind Manian & Christopher Potts, 2018. "Enculturation Trajectories: Language, Cultural Adaptation, and Individual Outcomes in Organizations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1348-1364, March.
    4. Richard L. Daft & Robert H. Lengel, 1986. "Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(5), pages 554-571, May.
    5. Heejung Chung, 2020. "Gender, Flexibility Stigma and the Perceived Negative Consequences of Flexible Working in the UK," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 521-545, September.
    6. Adam M. Kleinbaum & Toby E. Stuart & Michael L. Tushman, 2013. "Discretion Within Constraint: Homophily and Structure in a Formal Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1316-1336, October.
    7. Batia M. Wiesenfeld & Sumita Raghuram & Raghu Garud, 1999. "Communication Patterns as Determinants of Organizational Identification in a Virtual Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(6), pages 777-790, December.
    8. Stephen Michael Impink & Andrea Prat & Raffaella Sadun, 2020. "Measuring Collaboration in Modern Organizations," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 181-186, May.
    9. Karen Chinander Dye & J. P. Eggers & Zur Shapira, 2014. "Trade-offs in a Tempest: Stakeholder Influence on Hurricane Evacuation Decisions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 1009-1025, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tachia Chin & Yi Shi & Manlio Giudice & Jianwei Meng & Zeyu Xing, 2023. "Working from anywhere: yin–yang cognition paradoxes of knowledge sharing and hiding for developing careers in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Shen, Lucas, 2023. "Does working from home work? A natural experiment from lockdowns," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    3. Divine Q. Agozie & Muesser Nat, 2022. "Do communication content functions drive engagement among interest group audiences? An analysis of organizational communication on Twitter," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sumita Raghuram & Philipp Tuertscher & Raghu Garud, 2010. "Research Note ---Mapping the Field of Virtual Work: A Cocitation Analysis," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 983-999, December.
    2. Jennifer D. Parlamis & Ingmar Geiger, 2015. "Mind the Medium: A Qualitative Analysis of Email Negotiation," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 359-381, March.
    3. Stefan Hoffmann & Tom Joerß & Robert Mai & Payam Akbar, 2022. "Augmented reality-delivered product information at the point of sale: when information controllability backfires," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 743-776, July.
    4. Tangirala, Subrahmaniam & Alge, Bradley J., 2006. "Reactions to unfair events in computer-mediated groups: A test of uncertainty management theory," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Meissner, Jens O., 2005. "Relationship Quality in the Context of Computer-Mediated Communication - A social constructionist approach," Working papers 2005/15, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    6. Mobasseri, Sanaz & Stein, Daniel H. & Carney, Dana R., 2022. "The accurate judgment of social network characteristics in the lab and field using thin slices of the behavioral stream," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    7. Carlos Ferran & Stephanie Watts, 2008. "Videoconferencing in the Field: A Heuristic Processing Model," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(9), pages 1565-1578, September.
    8. Sidhu, Jatinder S. & Volberda, Henk W., 2011. "Coordination of globally distributed teams: A co-evolution perspective on offshoring," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 278-290, June.
    9. Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury & Cirrus Foroughi & Barbara Larson, 2021. "Work‐from‐anywhere: The productivity effects of geographic flexibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(4), pages 655-683, April.
    10. Eva-Maria Pesendorfer & Sabine T. Koeszegi, 2006. "Hot Versus Cool Behavioural Styles in Electronic Negotiations: The Impact of Communication Mode," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 141-155, March.
    11. Michele Griessmair & Sabine T. Koeszegi, 2009. "Exploring the Cognitive-Emotional Fugue in Electronic Negotiations," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 213-234, May.
    12. Lionel P. Robert & Alan R. Dennis & Manju K. Ahuja, 2008. "Social Capital and Knowledge Integration in Digitally Enabled Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 314-334, September.
    13. Kieran Mathieson, 2007. "Towards a Design Science of Ethical Decision Support," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(3), pages 269-292, December.
    14. Eva-Maria Pesendorfer & Sabine T. Koeszegi, 2007. "Social Embeddedness in Electronic Negotiations," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 399-415, July.
    15. Anne-Laure Fayard & Anca Metiu, 2014. "The Role of Writing in Distributed Collaboration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1391-1413, October.
    16. Zakaria, Norhayati, 2017. "Emergent Patterns of Switching Behaviors and Intercultural Communication Styles of Global Virtual Teams During Distributed Decision Making," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 350-366.
    17. Shradha Kundra & Naman Sreen & Rohit Dwivedi, 2023. "Impact of Work from Home and Family Support on Indian Women’s Work Productivity During COVID-19," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 48(1), pages 39-53, March.
    18. Mareike Schoop & Frank Köhne & Dirk Staskiewicz & Markus Voeth & Uta Herbst, 2008. "The antecedents of renegotiations in practice—an exploratory analysis," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 127-139, March.
    19. Olivia Aronson & Irene Henriques, 2023. "Shared Value Creation in Equivocal CSR Environments: A Configuration Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(4), pages 713-732, November.
    20. Rajiv D. Banker & Robert J. Kauffman, 2004. "50th Anniversary Article: The Evolution of Research on Information Systems: A Fiftieth-Year Survey of the Literature in Management Science," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(3), pages 281-298, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:9:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-022-01190-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.