Kaltura Survey: Employees Reveal That Working Remotely Impacts Social Connections at Work

Video Powering the Future of Work and Office Culture: 68% Want Remote Work Options for the Future, 57% Believe Small Talk in Virtual Meetings is Needed


New York, NY, Sept. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A recent survey by the leading video cloud, Kaltura, highlighted the role of video in shaping employee communication, from onboarding, to corporate directives, to conversations with colleagues. The Kaltura survey revealed that not only does video have the capacity to provide all the solutions for work productivity, but video can also offer essential tools for team building and remote office culture.

As the world rapidly switched to remote work in response to COVID-19, employers and employees alike were forced to quickly transition to video tools to ensure business continuity. But with the effects of COVID ongoing, examining the impact of video is critical to prepare for the new normal. Employers realized that remote work did, in fact, work, as video communication maintained employee workflow and efficiency. Moving forward, 68% of employees want the choice of fully remote or hybrid options from their companies.

Though businesses realized early on that productivity was unaffected, the same could not be said for office culture. The Kaltura survey discovered that 63% of employees speak less with colleagues. And with just under 75% of employees believing that their social relationships with colleagues have changed, employees have clearly missed conversations over non-work-related matters and casual chats with team members. As work and home lives continue to merge, businesses will now need to rethink how company culture can be maintained outside of the physical office.

Just as the social aspects of office culture have been affected, working from home has also shaken up the professional aspects of this culture. For instance, onboarding will need to be reconsidered, as the traditional process of meeting team members face-to-face has been disrupted. In fact, 57% of employees believe that pre-recorded video messages are the best way to welcome newcomers into the company and culture. It’s also a great way for newcomers to introduce themselves to their teams. At the same time, 43% of the survey’s respondents reported that they would like a more “personal” real-time one-on-one video interaction for training purposes. Onboarding will now require various video-driven tools both to teach skills and build company culture and community.

Kaltura’s survey also revealed other key findings about video and remote work:

  • Over 80% of employees believe remote office communication does not require training tools
  • 57% of employees believe that small talk in virtual meetings is necessary
  • 42% of employees would rather have flexible video options, such as pre-recorded messages in addition to scheduled virtual meetings
  • Almost 50% of employees would like executives to communicate in additional (audio/visual) ways other than just email.
  • 68% of employees want remote work options for the future

“Video communication has become critical for all organizations, of all sizes,” said Dr. Michal Tsur, Co-founder and President of Kaltura. “COVID-19 has highlighted the need for variation in remote styles of communication. Users are looking not only to exchange information and data, but also to interact and socialize, and with consumerization of enterprise video communication and collaboration, users expect a similar range of communication options as in their private lives.”

This survey, conducted by Kaltura in July 2020, was carried out with Google Surveys based on a representative sample of more than 1,000 office employees from the United States. For additional findings, please see the complete data report here.

About Kaltura

Kaltura’s mission is to power any video experience for any organization. Kaltura is the video cloud, powering communication, collaboration, learning and entertainment. Kaltura’s products are used by thousands of global enterprises, media companies, service providers and educational institutions, engaging hundreds of millions of viewers at home, at work, and at school. For more information, visit www.corp.kaltura.com.

 

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