The Place of Face-to-Face Communication in Distributed Work Type
of work: Book Chapter Categories:ICT & Information Society |
Participation & Uses Most distributed work requires mediated
communication, but the appropriate use of mediated, as compared
with face-to-face communication, is not well understood. From
our ethnographic research on workplace communication, we
characterize unique aspects of face-to-face communication. Face
to face communication supports touch, shared activities, eating
and drinking together, as well as informal interactions and
attention management. We argue that these activities are crucial
for sustaining the social relationships that make distributed
work possible. We contrast these social aspects of communication
with the informational aspects emphasized by traditional
communication theories, arguing that social linkages are a
precondition of information exchange. We also document the
disadvantages of face to face communication – that it can be
disruptive, expensive and effortful –