Working in a network environment : what tools for what risks?

It is very common nowadays to work in network. That is to say being in a meeting wearing a pyjama in his living room. How's that even possible? Because of the magic of the Internet and webcams! But why do we rather chose network tools? What are the positive and negative aspects of it? Let's take a closer look with a few examples!

First, where some people might be less stressed than in a face to face situation, we could oppose the technical problems that regularly occured. Bad connections, PowerPoint impossible to be read (by the machine or even by the supposed readers!), Windows 7 crashes, and so on.

So eventhough somes will feel better in front of their laptop and not physically standing in front of hundreds of eyes we have not to forget the thechnical risks taken.

Secondly, even if working in a pyjama is a cosy idea let's keep in mind that network communications are not so instinctive and natural for us. In fact we are used to communicate not only with our words but withe our body. The non-verbal communication plays the main in the delivery of our message. Gestures, look, smile, distances, tone of the voice, and so on. They all are actors of our successfull communication. But they remain in our unconciousness. That is to say we might be missing something when it'll be time to talk with our webcam and mic only.

Finaly, an other example of the risks taken working in a network environment is the misunderstanding. This risk is encrusted in the digital communications. Sometimes the smiley faces rescue us in killing the ambiguity our sentence was carrying. But would you use them in a business meeting? Misunderstanding and misinterpretation are not invincible ennemies. We only have to learn how not to let them the smallest gap in our communication. Being clear, using as precise words as possible in short sentences and impacting and imaged expressions.

You now have the weapons to join the battlefield of the network environment!