Bullying and racist online messages are becoming more prevalent during COVID

Virtual communication among employees has become more inappropriate and hostile as workers deal with prolonged stress from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thirty-eight percent of employees say they have experienced toxic workplace communication during the pandemic, according to a survey by software company Writer. Employees of color reported that they’ve received racist messages and comments twice as often as white employees.

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“The stress imposed on us as a result of COVID, the political climate and the social upheaval of 2020 inevitably made its way into how we communicate with each other,” says May Habib, CEO of Writer. “All of the informal ways in which we communicate with our friends and family over chat have made their way into the ways we communicate with our coworkers.”

Toxic work culture has become a growing problem as employees have become more isolated. One in five workers has left their job because of a toxic workplace, which has cost employers $223 billion over the last five years, according to the Society of Human Resource Management. During COVID, just 32% of employees report feeling satisfied with their job, down from 57% pre-pandemic, according to a survey by research firm The Martec Group.

Workplace stress and personal challenges often bleed into an employee’s communication with colleagues, Habib says. The most common behaviors employees experienced were aggressive and passive aggressive language, insensitive remarks, and bullying, according to Writer.

“As workplaces went online, management didn’t have a good way of making sure that people were nice to each other,” Habib says. “In a physical workplace, you overhear things and may have to take someone aside and say, “That’s not our tone here.” That’s much harder when everyone is online.”

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Virtual sexual harassment has also become an issue during the pandemic, according to Stephanie Peet, a labor attorney with Jackson Lewis. Her firm has received an increase in calls complaining about lewd language.

“Being at home creates a casual atmosphere that makes people feel more bold about engaging in unprofessional behavior,” Peet says. “That joke about not wearing pants during Zoom meetings is becoming a common complaint.”

Employers need to be proactive in shutting down inappropriate communication, making it clear it won’t be tolerated, Habib says. Employers should incorporate these rules into any training they offer to employees.

“If you’re doing any training, make sure one of the items you talk about is what the culture is around how you communicate,” she says. “We say please, we say thank you, we don’t like passive aggressive language. We don’t Slack outside of work hours.”

Habib’s company Writer has seen a spike in demand for their software, which not only helps employees correct grammar and spelling mistakes, but identifies potentially inappropriate messaging before the note is sent.

“We help people communicate in ways that are conscious,” Habib says. “Our tool will tell people when they're coming across a passive aggressive, or just plain aggressive and let them know that it could be received in this way. Most people end up deleting it and typing in something more polite.”

With remote work here to stay, employers need to establish how their culture can support employees and be a safe space for all, Habib says.

“Employers and workplaces are really making an effort to teach what conscious communication looks like and what contributes to a toxic workplace,” she says. “This is the time to really stamp it out because this is when we really need our workplace to be that place of belonging and a trusted community.”