I don't really have the time to rip this apart, but I wanted to let people know that studies like this are starting to emerge. Here's a few thoughts on the paper without too much analysis: This is...
I don't really have the time to rip this apart, but I wanted to let people know that studies like this are starting to emerge. Here's a few thoughts on the paper without too much analysis:
This is what is actually being measured
a weekly summary of the amount of time spent in scheduled meetings, time spent in unscheduled video/audio calls, emails sent and IMs sent, and the length of their workweek; and (4) a monthly summary of their collaboration network
Figure 6, 7, and 8 are particularly important as they attempted to classify workers based on the kind of work they did. Interestingly the people who are supposed to collaborate found themselves collaborating less. Perhaps this is because their tools were inadequate for collaboration? Or perhaps it was because they were feeling stressed and anxious at the very beginning of COVID and didn't have the emotional bandwidth to network? Many plausible reasons here which are not investigated by the authors.
The authors make some assumptions about the quality of communication, once again predicated on previous studies many of which are simply short sighted. Here's a quote demonstrating this
Not only were the communication media that workers used less synchronous, but they were also less ‘rich’ (for example, email and IM)
Showing a decrease in meetings and an increase in email and IM may simply indicate a different preference in how people want to communicate. If a meeting can be accomplished in 5 emails instead of one 30 minute block, the method may be less 'rich' but with an increase in total information the total richness of communication may be the same.
Pay close attention to the Author Information and Ethics Declaration sections. Most of the major authors of this article are or were employed by Microsoft and have pending patent applications with Microsoft related to this work.
Yeah, a lot of these types of analyses seen to go in with assumptions that meetings are better, period. I've been remote for over three years, and it just depends on what you need to accomplish....
Showing a decrease in meetings and an increase in email and IM may simply indicate a different preference in how people want to communicate. If a meeting can be accomplished in 5 emails instead of one 30 minute block, the method may be less 'rich' but with an increase in total information the total richness of communication may be the same.
Yeah, a lot of these types of analyses seen to go in with assumptions that meetings are better, period. I've been remote for over three years, and it just depends on what you need to accomplish. Zoom has its place, but so do emails and quick Slack messages.
Plus, as a disabled person with limited energy who finds talking more tiring than typing, I'm always happy when things aren't meetings.
I can type 95+ WPM, and juggle 3-5 IM conversations at once with little effort. You put me in a Zoom meeting where I'm expected to talk and I'm shot for the rest of the day.
I can type 95+ WPM, and juggle 3-5 IM conversations at once with little effort.
You put me in a Zoom meeting where I'm expected to talk and I'm shot for the rest of the day.
Gigantic red flag. Because they are almost definitely gathering their analytics via Outlook and Teams primarily. According to them I do practically nothing all week. (hard to gather analytics when...
Most of the major authors of this article are or were employed by Microsoft and have pending patent applications with Microsoft related to this work.
Gigantic red flag. Because they are almost definitely gathering their analytics via Outlook and Teams primarily. According to them I do practically nothing all week. (hard to gather analytics when I don't use Teams or Outlook).
I absolutely love how the number of phone calls and meetings have dropped exponentially in favor of asynvhronous communication. It lets me hone in on deep work and get back to people s needed.
My absolute ideal version of my job would be 100% performed asynchronously, all communication done via Slack, with no expectations of response time or hours kept.
I would love to never hear the voices of coworkers. Perhaps I'm just an outlier and just see work (evem white-collar IT work) merely as a means to enjoy my life elsewhere.
Also, it’s the complete opposite of my reality. I am slammed with meetings, IMs and email every second of the day. It’s ludicrous to expect people to get shit done under said conditions. I...
Showing a decrease in meetings and an increase in email and IM may simply indicate a different preference in how people want to communicate.
Also, it’s the complete opposite of my reality. I am slammed with meetings, IMs and email every second of the day. It’s ludicrous to expect people to get shit done under said conditions. I literally just turn off my notifications and come back at the end of the day </vent>
I don't really have the time to rip this apart, but I wanted to let people know that studies like this are starting to emerge. Here's a few thoughts on the paper without too much analysis:
Figure 6, 7, and 8 are particularly important as they attempted to classify workers based on the kind of work they did. Interestingly the people who are supposed to collaborate found themselves collaborating less. Perhaps this is because their tools were inadequate for collaboration? Or perhaps it was because they were feeling stressed and anxious at the very beginning of COVID and didn't have the emotional bandwidth to network? Many plausible reasons here which are not investigated by the authors.
The authors make some assumptions about the quality of communication, once again predicated on previous studies many of which are simply short sighted. Here's a quote demonstrating this
Showing a decrease in meetings and an increase in email and IM may simply indicate a different preference in how people want to communicate. If a meeting can be accomplished in 5 emails instead of one 30 minute block, the method may be less 'rich' but with an increase in total information the total richness of communication may be the same.
Yeah, a lot of these types of analyses seen to go in with assumptions that meetings are better, period. I've been remote for over three years, and it just depends on what you need to accomplish. Zoom has its place, but so do emails and quick Slack messages.
Plus, as a disabled person with limited energy who finds talking more tiring than typing, I'm always happy when things aren't meetings.
I can type 95+ WPM, and juggle 3-5 IM conversations at once with little effort.
You put me in a Zoom meeting where I'm expected to talk and I'm shot for the rest of the day.
Gigantic red flag. Because they are almost definitely gathering their analytics via Outlook and Teams primarily. According to them I do practically nothing all week. (hard to gather analytics when I don't use Teams or Outlook).
I absolutely love how the number of phone calls and meetings have dropped exponentially in favor of asynvhronous communication. It lets me hone in on deep work and get back to people s needed.
My absolute ideal version of my job would be 100% performed asynchronously, all communication done via Slack, with no expectations of response time or hours kept.
I would love to never hear the voices of coworkers. Perhaps I'm just an outlier and just see work (evem white-collar IT work) merely as a means to enjoy my life elsewhere.
Also, it’s the complete opposite of my reality. I am slammed with meetings, IMs and email every second of the day. It’s ludicrous to expect people to get shit done under said conditions. I literally just turn off my notifications and come back at the end of the day </vent>