On average, people working or learning at home communicate with others only 4.2 times a week. That’s less than once per day.
This is according to a new study by the language learning platform Preply.
The results found that 4 in 10 Canadians believe their social skills have declined due to limited in-person interactions.
The report said that while remote work “offers flexibility and freedom, it can also contribute to a sense of isolation and detachment from conventional workplace interactions.”
78% of Canadians have worked or studied remotely at some point since the pandemic. Many have found it hard to maintain their social skills while spending long periods alone.
Some employees have been communicating with team members and colleagues only every few months.
Consequentially, this frequency could be affecting their verbal and written skills.
According to the report, 86% of Canadians experienced at least some challenges collaborating with team members while being remote.
Additionally, more than two-thirds of remote workers noticed changes in their social skills.
While 26% said they saw an improvement, 43% felt their social skills were negatively affected.
Younger workers were the most affected. 52% of 16 to 24-year-olds noticed a decline in social skills.
7 in 10 people noticed at least some change in their verbal communication skills, affecting their transition back to the office.
On the bright side, many Canadians saw improvements in their written skills, such as grammar, punctuation, and tone.
Only 8% felt their written skills got worse in this period, which is likely due to the emphasis placed on messaging.
