Technology stops workers from talking to each other

Technological advancements in the workplace have lead to a reduction in the amount of time people spend talking to each other face-to-face, according to research published today.

More than half (68 per cent) of respondents surveyed by Lumison engage in less face-to-face interaction than five years ago.

However, this being a comms survey, Lumison argued that a lot of face-to-face communication was actually unnecessary.

Aydin Kurt-Elli, chief executive of Lumison, said in a statement: "Walking to a different floor, or another part of the office or even a different office to hold a conversation.

He added: "I would always argue in favour of using the best form of communication for any situation, whether that is instant messaging, email, phone, SMS or indeed face-to-face conversation."

The lack of face-to-face communication didn't stretch to the breaking of bad news in the workplace though, with 95 per cent of respondents saying they would still do that in person.