Dive Brief:

• A new monday.com survey of 1,000 U.S. workers found that 28% of them do not have an accurate assessment of how they spend their workdays, and 37% said that managers don’t know what workers are doing. These survey results from The State of Transparency in America’s Workplaces uncover deep communication breakdowns in the workplace, said monday.com, a team management SaaS platform. 
• In other key survey results, more than half of American employees go a full week without discussing what they're working on; 63% of the respondents feel their teams could better communicate goals and needs; 46% feel they're too busy working; and at least 43% feel "somewhat sick, tired and irritable." 
• Monday.com said that with 130 million Americans working full time and the workforce shrinking, teams are more time-strapped and fragmented than ever and that even with the growth in communication tools and platforms, a fundamental breakdown in communication exists between managers and team members. 

Dive Insight:

This survey affirms what other polls have also recognized: that the disconnect between managers and workers persists and that communication and transparency lapses may be root causes of the problem. 

Employers must consider whether they're offering workers enough ways to communicate effectively. Another consideration is whether employees know what communication platforms are available to them. Many employers are beginning to turn toward work chat platforms like Slack to give workers an alternative to email for quick check-ins as well as a user experience that is similar to popular personal tools, like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. Email, however, still reigns as the main tool of work communication; the key for employers, regardless of tool available, is to ensure employees understand the cultural norms of use for each platform.

Managers, generally, may feel overwhelmed in their roles, a West Monroe Partners study said. One issue for managers may be that excess email keeps them from being able to interact with subordinates, according to at least one study. HR can help ensure managers have development opportunities and proper training to better communicate with their direct reports.

Making better use of digital platforms to improve communication and transparency might require a culture shift, in which workers are encouraged — and expected — to use platform tools appropriately. HR will need to lead the transformation while making sure workers aren't overwhelmed by an influx of tech.