Organizational Wellness

Master Workplace Communication: Styles, Types, and Healthy Conversation Tips

Last Updated Dec 9, 2024

Time to read: 11 minutes

We have more communication tools than ever, but quantity isn't quality. Have you ever felt stuck in a cycle of frustrating miscommunications at work? Whether it's passive avoidance, aggressive outbursts, or passive-aggressive hints, these communication styles can sap team spirit and efficiency.

Knowing the styles and types of workplace communication can help you guide your team interact in a healthy and productive way. Let's dive in!

Different Types of Communication Styles

There are four basic types of workplace communication styles, each of which has a distinct effect on others.

Passive Communication

Passive communication is a pattern of not expressing preferences or ideas and deferring to others instead. This is the "Whatever you'd prefer" style, which often signals a need to deflect attention.

Effects of passive communication

Passive communicators tend to ignore their own needs in an effort to appease those around them. While they may think their approach is the best way to avoid conflict, it often leads to frustration and misunderstandings. Others want to know what the passive communicator thinks or wants, and avoidance may feel like a refusal to connect.

There are scenarios where a passive communication style is useful. If another person is being aggressive, a passive approach can diffuse the situation and let things settle down, a recent Princeton University publication notes.

Passive communication in leadership

A leader's passive communication style is particularly damaging and can affect engagement across the organization, a recent Frontiers in Psychology article noted. Passive leaders ignore workplace conflict and leave employees to handle issues independently. Team relationships and employee engagement suffer.

The effect of passive leadership can even spill over into customer relations, researchers noted. Employees of passive leaders had to work harder to manage internal conflict, which meant they had less energy for customers and stakeholders. Executive leadership and HR departments must be aware of this pattern and willing to step in when necessary.

Aggressive Communication

While passive communicators neglect their own needs and perspectives, aggressive communicators push theirs on others. They insist on their position and actively deny or demean others' viewpoints. The aggressive communicator is often intentionally hurtful, and their insistence on "getting their way" can make the workplace feel hostile.

Effects on team functioning

Aggressive communication is toxic to team cohesion, as a 2023 study by two university professors demonstrated. Chronic verbal aggression in a working group damaged working relationships and threatened employees' relationships with work. Job satisfaction, commitment, and sense of agency suffered.

Aggressive communication and mental wellbeing

Exposure to aggressive communication can damage employees' emotional health, according to a study in Occupational Medicine. Harsh criticisms of job performance caused many employees to lose sleep, largely because the criticism made it difficult for the affected employees to detach emotionally.

Supervisors were the most common source of aggressive comments. The takeaway for leaders here is that feedback content matters, and the management of feedback style can significantly affect employee wellbeing.

Passive-Aggressive Communication

Passive-aggressive communication is also a source of potential conflict and toxicity, but it is less overt than direct aggression. Passive-aggressive communicators are more likely to hint at their negative opinions by refusing to interact or saying something they know will upset the other person, then pretending they didn't intend any harm.

The occasional passive-aggressive comment happens, but some people let it become a pattern. When employees can't express their frustration without passive aggression, it's probably time to have a meeting.

Passive aggression in the workplace

Passive-aggressive messaging is widespread in the workplace, as recent survey data from Preply shows. More than 80% of surveyed employees have received passive-aggressive messages via email or messenger app, and almost a quarter have quit their jobs due to such messages. For 42%, the message came from a supervisor.

Survey respondents noted several common types of passive-aggressive comments, the most prevalent being the unnecessary reminder. Curt responses, excessive formality, and uncalled-for escalation to management are also popular — these approaches allow passive-aggressive coworkers to hide behind "professionalism" that is anything but.

Identifying and addressing passive-aggressive behavior

Plausible deniability is a crucial weapon for passive-aggressive communicators. A manager might passively criticize someone who's always late by calling out their absence in a meeting report, or a coworker might send out a group reminder to be on time for group check-ins. Both likely argue that they "didn't mean anything by it."

Clear communication is the best way to handle passive-aggressive workers, the Society for Human Resource Management says. Approach the employee to help, then disclose that you've noticed the person might be upset. Express a desire to help and offer support.

If the behavior continues, the person may need more direct feedback on how their communication style affects the team.

Assertive Communication

Assertive communication is direct without being aggressive. The assertive communicator expresses their opinions, needs, and ideas while respecting others' perspectives.

Benefits of assertive communication

Assertive communication is a healthy and effective go-to communication style in most workplaces. It benefits the communicator by cultivating self-respect and confidence while empowering the person to honor their needs.

Confidently communicating is also essential for group cohesion. Team members can cultivate relationships based on honesty. Those relationships are the foundation of a respectful environment where everyone can express their needs, and no one feels attacked.

Learning and teaching assertive communication

Assertive communication is the most effective and constructive workplace communication style, according to the customer service professionals at Zendesk. Although not all professionals come by it naturally, it is a learnable skill.

Strength-based communication training teaches people to speak for themselves, express their ideas, and set boundaries when necessary. These skills boost employees' emotional wellbeing while giving them the tools to succeed.

Four Types of Communication

Communication must be effective across all platforms for a workplace to run smoothly. Memos and Slack messages must be as persuasive, understanding, and respectful as face-to-face meetings. Let's consider what good communication looks like across the four types of workplace communication.

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication uses words and subtext to convey meaning. For clarity purposes, we'll use the term "verbal" to mean spoken language, though some sources include written communication in this category.

Skilled verbal communicators pay attention to what they say, how they say it, and how listeners react. Listening is a key part of verbal communication in the workplace. After all, a point only comes across if both speaker and listener are committed to understanding.

Effective speaking

Effective speakers use their words thoughtfully. They consider what they want the other person to understand and convey their ideas as clearly, concisely, and respectfully as possible.

Tone and volume are equally important. A calm tone and moderate volume are usually the most appropriate choices for the workplace, as loud and harsh tones can alienate listeners.

Active listening

Communication can only happen when both the speaker and listener are committed to understanding and active listeners hold themselves accountable. They give their full attention to the other person and ensure they understand the message. If something is unclear or they need more information, the active listener poses thoughtful questions.

Like assertive communication, active listening is a learnable skill. Managers and HR leaders can tap their professional networks to find training videos or workshop ideas to get things started.

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication goes hand in hand with verbal messages. Even when someone doesn't say a word, their body and gestures speak volumes.

Eye contact

In the United States, eye contact signifies that someone is paying attention. People often interpret a lack of eye contact as not being invested in the conversation. However, many other cultures see eye contact as aggressive. It's important to understand your audience and respect people's beliefs.

Facial expression

Facial expression shows how you feel about a conversation, whether you're speaking or listening. A smile can put people at ease, assuming it's appropriate for the situation.

Posture

People typically associate a relaxed stance with confidence, ease, and openness to others. A closed posture indicates the opposite. Part of effective communication is paying attention to your natural posture and shifting if you might send the wrong message.

Posture can also affect your emotions and self-perception. Strong poses make people feel powerful and confident while slouching signals powerlessness. Trying different postures can help some people feel more comfortable communicating in person.

Written Communication

With no body language or facial expressions to convey tone, written communication has to convey everything with words. Important tools include:

Organizational structure: Introductions, conclusions, and transitions make writing cohesive and help readers follow along
Clarity and simplicity: Professional writing should be concise and consider the reader's understanding. Jargon should be minimal in most cases.
Grammar and spelling: Correct use of language helps writing flow more smoothly and conveys professionalism.
Voice and tone: Sentence structure and word choice replace nonverbal communication in writing. Strong written communicators can adapt their style to suit the message, from formal company-wide announcements to casual blog posts or marketing emails.

Written communication skills are essential in today's digital-first workplace. Employees can avoid potentially costly misunderstandings and build stronger relationships by developing basic writing skills.

Visual Communication

Visual communication uses images and graphics to convey meaning in printed materials. Employees use this skill in different ways, from the branding design that happens in your marketing department to the reports your data analysis team generates.

Visual communication skills include:

Color theory: Understanding which colors complement each other and how to evoke certain feelings through color
Multimedia design: Incorporating graphics, photos, or videos to boost engagement
Visualization skills: Choosing the right type of graph to communicate a data-driven insight
Image selection: Understanding which images to use to emphasize a point or persuade a customer

Effective visual communication makes written communication easier and more accessible.

Healthy Workplace Communication

As revealed in Wellhub's State of Work-Life Wellness 2024 report, 99% of employees say work relationships matter to their wellbeing. More than 90% say work stress impacts their ability to have good work relationships, and 16% of people say their work relationships are "extremely unhealthy."

Healthy workplace communication is often key to fixing these issues. The first step is to observe how people talk and write to each other in different situations.

Characteristics of Healthy Communication

Productive workplace communication is all of the following:

Thoughtful: Employees think before they speak and consider how others will hear.
Collaborative: Employees practice active listening and check for understanding.
Clear and accessible: Employees speak for understanding and avoid complex jargon when speaking to non-experts.
Respectful: Coworkers treat one another as competent professionals.
Empathetic: Employees consider the effects of their words before speaking or sending messages.
Non-confrontational: Employees use "I" statements instead of accusing or criticizing others.

Healthy communication is vital in reducing conflict, but disagreements happen on every team. Leaders need to understand that although productive communication practices are important, it's also essential to practice compassionate conflict resolution.

How To Spot and Fix Communication Breakdowns

Employees don't always mention communication issues to management. Sometimes, they don't even know a communication issue is the root of their team's problem. HR departments and managers at all levels should be on the watch for signs of poor communication, which may include:

Low morale: Employees seem unenthused about their job or team.
Tension: Employees hesitate to interact with certain people or bring up particular topics.
Confusion: Employees can't answer basic questions about company, team, or project goals, or they disagree on the answers.
Inconsistent results: Finished products differ from the original plan, or team members disagree on whether it meets expectations.

When these patterns become chronic, most teams need outside intervention. HR departments and company leaders can step in.

One possible solution is a standardized collaboration process. Communication breakdowns often happen because of a lack of stated expectations, and a communications workflow can help.

Direct interventions may be necessary if the problem lies with one or two people. Leadership can develop an action plan for the people involved and support those dealing with the fallout.

How HR Can Support Open and Healthy Communication

Communication patterns contribute significantly to how people experience work. Poor interpersonal skills can damage people's confidence and lead to conflict, while healthier styles encourage things to run smoothly. By facilitating these healthier patterns, HR departments and company leaders can build stronger teams.

A wellbeing program is a research-supported solution that helps people feel and do their best, both in and out of work. Employees have a better chance of communicating confidently, assertively, and productively when they feel their best, and wellbeing programs offer those tools.

Wellhub is here to help your company enjoy the benefits of employee wellbeing. Talk to a Wellbeing Specialist today to discover how we can help your team thrive!

Company healthcare costs drop by up to 35% with Wellhub*

See how we can help you reduce your healthcare spending.

Talk to a Wellbeing Specialist

[*] Based on proprietary research comparing healthcare costs of active Wellhub users to non-users.