Ever had a coworker you just could not connect with? Possibly making conversations feel awkward or dry? That is exactly why coworker collaboration is so important! It allows employees to enjoy their workplace, along with the people they are surrounded by. This allows people to feel more motivated to hype up their company and try their best to improve it.

In the past, coworkers did not have the fancy technology that we have today. Collaboration involved more face to face interactions, team building, get togethers, etc. Some team building activities include board game competitions, nerf gun fights, karaoke outings, and more. These activities will take the surface level connections between coworkers and turn them into more casual ones, allowing the workplace to feel more comfortable to be around. This not only helps build meaningful connections amongst coworkers, but it allows the employees to feel comfortable enough to give constructive criticism in order to create the very best content. That is, without feeling offended. Additionally, businesses would have classroom training, facilitated teams, meetings and coaches. They would train their employees about themselves, their strengths, and how to work with others who have different strengths.

As of today, businesses collaborate their workers through technology. A very popular collaboration method of today is video chatting. This is the most efficient way of collaborating coworkers, as it is less expensive (no traveling costs for meetings) and it is quick and easy. The best part is that it doesn’t involve getting out of your seat! This can be done through a program called “Google Hangouts” which allows multiple people to connect through video chatting. There are also other networks that allow you to use video chatting as a collaboration idea, Google Hangouts is just one example of the many. Additionally, there is a strategy called “Hot Desking” in order to get people to collaborate in the workplace. This calls for no seating arrangement; people can sit wherever they want throughout their workplace, and they can sit at a different spot each day. This allows for more exposure amongst employees, as well as more socializing in general.

Through the development of AI, I am starting to see what the future may hold. Obviously nobody knows what the future will actually hold, but AI gives us a pretty accurate guess. More robots are being developed; simple ones that can open doors and more complex ones that mimic a person. Through AI, I believe that video chatting will somehow become more personal. Whether that is actually having robots to explain what a person is saying from miles away, or maybe it is a more advanced type of video chatting that allows people to connect on a more personal level. Whatever it may be, I do think it will benefit the workplace in that way. It may sound crazy, but robots may just be the next future of technology.

A great way for businesses to grow is through encouraging remote workers. By the time I have graduated college, I believe the amount of remote workers that work for a business will be increased. This is because remote workers can be spread out amongst the nation, increasing the amount of people involved in a business. This also helps the business see how far their work has traveled, possibly see how many people are involved in their business, and learn about different types of ways to contact their employees.

I believe video chatting is the best way to contact remote employees, as it allows for conversation that mimics face to face interactions. This allows for more personal connections, less interruptions (like what happens on conference calls) and it can connect people from multiple areas of not only the country, but the world. It is the most efficient way to gather information and ideas from other coworkers.

Too many tools for coworker collaboration could be toxic to employees in the workplace, as they could be confused as to what tool to use for what situation. For example, brainstorming may be a challenge through a conference call because it leads to more accidental interruptions and lack of body language. For certain situations, a person may choose the wrong tool to use, leading to more confusion.

Coworker collaboration is constantly changing in today’s society. It is intriguing to see where it may go, and where it will improve the workplace in general. This will help coworkers connect on a deeper level, allow for more ideas to be exposed, and can help grow the business which uses coworker collaboration in the most efficient ways.

Konya, Kelly. “5 Benefits of a Collaborative Environment.” Coworker, 22 Aug. 2017, http://www.coworker.com/mag/5-benefits-of-a-collaborative-environment.