Remote workers enjoy numerous perks when working from home, but the experience also has a few challenges. It’s easier for incorrect statements to spread when people can’t read body language or walk down the hall to ask questions. Leaders can tackle misinformation with the following tips to create better engagement in a virtual work world.
host recurring training sessions.
People can come across false information from the internet accidentally. The incorrect findings are also known as misinformation or fabricated content. Individuals who don’t know how to spot fake rumours or well-intentioned misinformation may bring it up in the workplace.
Someone working for a social media management company could use an artificial intelligence (AI) search engine to request the latest data regarding simple ways to prevent infections. Due to the rise in medical information over the years, the AI site provides solutions suggested in conspiracy theory articles.
The employee doesn’t intend to spread misinformation, but their lack of training in the past few years leaves them unprepared. Education would have included red flags about conspiracy content, but the workers didn’t learn them. The company gets backlash for posting unproven theories.
Remedy the need for more understanding by hosting recurring training sessions on spotting misinformation in all its forms. Potential conflict and hurt feelings are less likely to happen when team members aren’t as susceptible to fabrications. They won’t believe rumours and spread them in the workplace, creating a better virtual work world for people at all levels of your company.
Google fosters continual training opportunities with its Googler-to-Googler (g2g) program. It emphasises a micro-learning approach so employees learn from each other on the job. The frequent training sessions allow management teams to educate workers on the latest forms of misinformation. They can show people how to spot it online and foster a welcoming environment for anyone with questions about fabricated content later.
foster open communication.
Maintaining an open line of communication is an essential way to tackle misinformation. Everyone will feel free to ask questions if they’re unsure about something and feel respected during those vulnerable moments.
This team strength is essential in a world where imposter content is part of misinformation. Even well-trained employees can mistake an impersonated post or email. Research shows 91% of cyberattacks begin with a phishing email, a form of disinformation.
The purposefully misleading email could be a cybercriminal pretending to be a company’s CEO. People who don’t feel they can talk with their managers might send confidential information to the hacker because they didn’t double-check the verified email address with their team.
A lack of communication could also result in co-workers spreading misinformation among themselves accidentally. An employee might use a natural language processing AI system to transcribe their notes through voice-to-text software. Although the software might be the most up-to-date version, it could record things incorrectly.
Instead of the employee’s notes recommending that home health nurses receive overtime pay for “on-call” visits, the software could record a recommendation for overtime pay for “all” visits. The incorrect information gets lost in the extensive notes and quickly confuses the company’s home health offices across the U.S.
Satellite office employees should feel comfortable asking if the information is accurate. Companies that don’t mindfully create a welcoming atmosphere could face complicated payroll issues because of the lack of open communication.
Company leaders can look to Progressive as an example of ensuring everyone feels safe speaking up or asking questions. The company has nine resource groups to create a welcoming environment for people from all walks of life.
The groups have staff members trained in listening to and advocating for those who come to them. Those two skills invite people to ask questions because they create safe spaces. More workplaces should foster the same environment so anyone wondering about misinformation can address their concerns and stop it before it hurts their company.
create a positive Work environment.
Hate-based fabricated content and purposeful disinformation prey on people’s emotional states. If they’re already unhappy with one or more aspects of their life, they’re more likely to believe misinformation. Reducing negativity in the office by supporting each team member’s psychological well-being is an excellent way to prevent false information from causing distrust or discord.
Someone could come across AI-generated propaganda on social media from a source of purposeful disinformation making money off clicks and shares. The post could claim businesses are installing new air filters to brainwash employees with airborne chemicals, which are supposed to make them compliant with illegal activity.
An employee who’s already angry at their supervisor might readily believe this fictional information because they felt mistreated before seeing it. They could share the information with co-workers who respond similarly, leading to dangerous beliefs about the management team and a tense work environment.
Reducing this negativity through uplifting daily conversations and positive team relationships are two ways to prevent propaganda from taking hold of a workplace. Getting ahead of negativity to prevent it from happening is even more effective.
Handshake is a company that prioritises making its work environment welcoming and free of negativity. First, it updated its Guide to Diversity and Inclusivity according to what marginalised people need to access equality. The human resources department enforces the new guidelines with reprimands and the potential for dismissal.
Potential consequences ensure each department’s mission is to welcome people while preventing hate from spreading through the workplace. Based on the above study, less negativity creates happier teams who are less likely to fall for and spread misinformation.
Managers at runZero also operate by these standards. The cybersecurity brand hires people to be kinder than necessary and always assumes everyone has good intentions. Positive communication and perspectives prevent negativity from spreading so no one resents each other, leading to better long-term working relationships.
There are other ways to foster more positivity with remote teams besides workplace guidelines. Schedule check-ins with each worker and shower them with encouragement for their recent efforts. Be quick to connect everyone with helpful digital resources to make their work lives more manageable. Each action will reduce employee stress levels and make them feel more content in the workplace.
Consider filling the office with plants if employees or C-suite members still commute. Research shows that people have a more positive outlook on their well-being when surrounded by nature. Plants are a quick way to recreate this effect at work, leading to more positive frames of mind. Remote employees could follow suit by showing off their new office plant during check-in meetings.
Some remote workers may live close enough to utilise a shared workplace when they feel too cooped up. Leasing an office space would create an optional work environment that fosters essential misinformation-battling techniques like attentiveness.
rEVIEW INTERNAL COMMUNICATION MATERIALS CAREFULLY.
Sometimes misinformation creates adverse ripple effects for remote teams when word choice within internal communications leaves out essential facts. Professional teams can look at the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal as an example to avoid replicating.
Internal documents from the case show that some Facebook employees knew about the data breach before the public did. Other employees didn’t, preventing them from addressing consumer data concerns accurately. When the world found out through breaking news headlines in 2018, the internal misinformation hiding the breach broke employer-team trust with many Facebook employees.
Whether misinformation in internal communications happens purposefully or not, it still hides facts from team members who trust their employer. The break in trust will result in employee turnover and less productivity as team members don’t feel passionate about contributing to a company that deceived them.
Leaders should mindfully review internal communications for any misinformation or seemingly deceptive wording. Remember, everyone succeeds or fails together. Thoughtful editing reviews can be enough to end inaccurate information or word choices before it does any real damage to employee teams by breaking their trust.
AI-generated communication materials could result in word usage that passes the machine’s filters but means something slightly different in human-to-human conversations. Even the idea of potentially broken trust caused by AI-written emails or newsletters could cause long-term relationship damage for employers and their team members.
IMPLEMENT DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS.
Unfortunately, the spread of misinformation isn’t always an accident. Sometimes it happens when someone holds a grudge or doesn’t realise they’re seeing an AI-generated image falsified to spread fabricated ideas. People will become more engaged in their workplaces when they see toxic behaviours met by appropriate disciplinary actions.
The people spreading falsities benefit from a reprimand fitting the damage done by their actions. They may continue falling down the rabbit hole of intoxicating false information online if someone doesn’t remind them that inaccurate statements harm everyone involved.
It’s better to discipline them after repeated offences and draw a clear line regarding what constitutes job termination. As Jim Rohn said, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” Achieving a workplace free of misinformation and its destructive nature means helping employees become their best selves and reprimanding those who actively work against everyone’s best interests by spreading falsities.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has taken this lesson to heart. It dealt with misinformation more than usual over the last few years. Health care experts spread it in their clinics and personal lives, so the AMA stepped in.
After studying how the falsities were getting to patients, the organisation published steps it could take to reprimand those with medical licenses. It was a bold move necessary when so much misinformation could end lives, damage reputations and hurt people.
TACKLE MISINFORMATION IN VIRTUAL WORKPLACES.
Virtual work worlds are more susceptible to misinformation due to limited communication methods and the rise of AI-powered software or content. Tackle the issue and avoid future problems by making your team members feel more engaged, respected and welcome to speak up about concerns.
Author: Rose Morrison – Managing Editor, Renovated
Photo credit: iStock
