Communication Technologies in a Remote Workplace

. The global pandemic, which began in 2020, ushered in a significant time in the field of information technology, when the performance of work duties, the receipt of services and mutual communication became most directly dependent on information and communication technologies. This new digital work environment poses new problems and challenges for business leaders. In addition, it must be taken into account that employees may experience stress as a result of the changes caused by the pandemic and the active use of information and communication technologies, which may result in psychological difficulties as a side factor, must be taken into account. The main goal of this study is to create a effective communication in digital workplace model that includes factors for effective communication in forced distancing conditions, as well as to provide recommendations for companies. The model consists of objectives, capabilities and contextual elements for an efficient communication system in forced distancing conditions. The model has been developed using the 4EM method, describing the factors involved and the attributes to be measured. On the basis of the model, a a communication system had been created, which will promote an efficient, safe and motivating work environment online and helps for company leaders (i.e. teleworking). As a large part of communication, efficiency depends not only on the used communication system (i.e. information and communication technologies) but also on the competence of managers. Recommendations for company managers to improve communication efficiency are developed and provided.


Digital Communication
Coming of new technologies has many advantages to organizations. Communication can be organized in four different settings according to time and place (Mittleman et al.,1999;Levi, 2014). Digital communication happens without the form of face-to-face meetings. It could be managed by video, audio or text. There are synchronized meetings online for all in the same time or out of sync in different time when a meeting is recorded in a storage place and can be used for employees with different time shifts. In this type of meeting participants share the same virtual space and web. Each of these settings can be applied depending on the situation, purpose, availability, resources, and context of transmitted message. It is critical for management to decide which of media is most appropriate to use in a every situation. Within Media Richness Theory, different means of technology are arranged from leaner medium channels to richer medium channels. Phone calls and video calls are considered as effective channels, but the most effective way of communications are face-to-face meetings. Face-to-face meetings provide high bandwidth for the communication. According to this theory, managers have to be very careful about the choices of communication tool they use in each situation. Leaner medium channels can be used for general announcements, but severe and problem-solving issues require richer medium channels (Workman, 2003).

Research results
In Pauga and Cakula (2019) research e-mails and phone calls are the most popular means of work communication, even though various new technologies are available (Pauga et al.., 2019). However, in another study, video-conferencing was not found to be an equal substitute for face-to-face meetings (Thompson et al., 2006). Video-conferencing brings the image together with the name of participant, but still misses necessary non-verbal cues for effective communication. A considerable amount of communication is non-verbal: kinesics (i.e., facial expressions, gestures, body movement); proxemics (i.e., perception and use of space); chronemics (i.e., perception and use of time) (Burgoon et al., 2011). Missing facial expressions and non-verbal cues cause lack of interpersonal relations, social rapport and lead to less satisfied members (Levi, 2017). It becomes harder to know if the information was under-stood fully or correctly, and can be challenging to establish and maintain mutual knowledge (Driskell et al., 2003). These problems are more complex across different cultures and can lead to false conclusions and assumptions about a person's character (Levi, 2017;Vignovic, 2010).
Two sets of empirical data were used in this study. Pratt and Cakula (2021) used data set from 2019 for motivation assessment survey with 102 respondents from 26 different countries (Pratt et al., 2021a). Second, open data from an open database with 35 different measurable attributes and 1470 surveyed employees in the IT company were used to measure parameters such as employee satisfaction, productivity and turnover (Pratt et al., 2021b).
Technology-based communication system developers have to consider many constructs. The model will be a guide for the development of more effective communication systems and include some of the necessary constructs (Pratt et al., 2020b).
One of the main goals of effective communication is motivated and satisfied employees. Employee motivation and satisfaction are essential aspects of remote work, especially at a time when the use of information and communication technologies has not been a key objective so far. At the same time, it must be remembered and taken into account that the psychological well-being of employees is an integral part of the quality of work.
Remote working must be organized in such a way as to ensure that it is not only efficient, does not create additional stress and strain on employees, but is also safe.

Description of the model
The model is based on research in various fields and the experience and knowledge of the authors. The main task of this model is to describe and include the necessary factors for effective communication within a remote working situation.
Accordingly, these are factors that should be provided by an efficient communication system and tool.
The model includes four important objectives:  communicate effectively;  motivated and satisfied employees in exceptional circumstances.  The model lists the different capabilities of the communication tool:  effective internal communication of employees;  communication flexibility; The service provided is a "Communication system". Every ability is based on different contexts.
The goal of the ability "Effective internal communication of employees" is to "Communicate effectively". This goal is ensured by the system which is a customized communication technology. functionalities of communication tool-these functions may include measurable attributes such as video, audio, text messages (chat), scree, text and voice sharing, written text, and voting/ surveying functions;  skills to use communication tools;  environment for effective communication. There are two adjustments to "communication flexibility": change in communication principles and a support function for managers.
The goal of "Communicate effectively" can be measured by the following KPIs: "channel richness", average time between communications, average amount of communication over a period of time, message length depending on the context, and time spent on communication (Fig. 2). Accordingly, these KPIs derive the measurable attributes used for the digital twin: length of the communication time, number of communication events, average message length depending on the context, and time spent on communication.
Another goal of effective communication is motivated and satisfied employees in exceptional circumstances. It is measured by the level of employee satisfaction and motivation in the organization as a whole and these are measurable attributes. Another way to measure motivation and satisfaction is by using net promoters score.

Fig. 2. The goal "Communicate effectively" model
The ability to "Effective and secure internal communication of employees" has three contextual elements: 1. Internet, which is measured by the number of interruptions per unit of time and the data transfer rate.
2. Electricity availability, measured by the number of interruptions per unit of time and the duration of the interruption. There are three possible adjustments to electricity availability: if the break duration is > X + 100 then install the generator; if the number of breaks > X then install the universal power supply (UPS); if "too often" then train employees in UPS and generator usage. 3. Percentage of employees working remote. The attributes to be measured are the number of employees and the number of employees working remote.

Employee motivation level
The system based on this model helps to solve several problems. One of the problem is when dissatisfied and unmotivated employees lead to lower productivity and can lead to employees leaving the company. Motivating employees in teleworking can be very difficult. As a solution, a system is offered that ensures the measurement of employees' mood every day by connecting to the communication system and regular surveys with the processing of results using an algorithm to take the necessary preventive measures.

Climate of effective communication in the organization
The second problem in the context of teleworking, it may be less obvious whether communication is frequent, effective and appropriate to the situation.

Leader support function
The system gives also support for manager functions. The problem is that without the necessary communication functions, the communication efficiency may be reduced. Keywords: communication tool, functionality, technology-based communication. Main objective is to determine whether the organization has the various communication functions required for a teleworking situation to ensure that employees have access to all necessary communication tools and that they are used effectively, thus facilitating the transfer and perception of information to managers. • parameters for quality communication provision; • managers' assessment of the effectiveness of the tools used. Digital twin and machine learning had been used for experimental results and validation (Lektauers et al., 2021). The Random Forest algorithm shows the best capabilities with accuracy 85.12. It is considered as good accuracy (Pratt et al., 2020a).

Recommendations
Recommendations on how to provide durable services in emergency situations:  Development of technologies and new ways of communication has given as many challenges as there are benefits. It connects people all over the world, gives more flexibility and increases speed of work, while the messages people convey can be losing meaning and context. Motivation is an important factor affecting employee satisfaction. However, motivating employees using technology-based communication is a challenge.
It has been discovered by Pratt and Cakula that leaders have main role in motivating employees and it can be done by bothmotivating employees through face-to-face communication and through technology-based communication (Pratt, 2020a). Technological solutions for companies have to be offered and developers need guidance for new system development, which include social science research. The system based on developed model supports leaders in communication with their employees and allows to identify the overall volatility of the company.

Conclusion
Development of technologies and new ways of communication has given as many challenges as there are benefits. It connects people all over the world, gives more flexibility and increases speed of work, while the messages people convey can be losing meaning and context. Motivation is an important factor affecting employee satisfaction. However, motivating employees using technology-based communication is a challenge.
It has been discovered by Pratt and Cakula that leaders have main role in motivating employees and it can be done by bothmotivating employees through face-to-face communication and through technology-based communication (Pratt, 2020a). Technological solutions for companies have to be offered and developers need guidance for new system development, which include social science research. The system based on developed model supports leaders in communication with their employees and allows to identify the overall volatility of the company.