Guest editorial: Shifting role and challenges of internal communication in an age of workplace turbulence/disruption

Abstract

Internal communication is so interconnected with organizing processes, organizational structure, environment, power dynamics and culture that some argue organizations couldn't exist without communication (Grunig, 1992). Therefore, internal communication is not merely an essential factor for attaining organizational success; it also serves as a foundational element for the very existence of the organization, especially during disruptive organizational changes (Kitchen and Daly, 2002).Organizations have gone through drastic functional and cultural changes over the past decade. These changes have undoubtedly become evident during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the post-pandemic workplace. As the labor market slowly rebounds from the two-yearlong pandemic brought on by COVID-19, remote work, zoom fatigues and no work/home boundaries have led to increased burnout and a desire for employees to sit back from their work while recovering from the psychological and physical tolls they took on their health and well-being (Kang, 2023). McKinsey & Co projected in their 2021 report that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated trends in remote work and automation, with up to 25% more workers than previously estimated potentially needing to switch occupations.Additionally, the threat of slow economic growth and an unstable labor market has made organizations anxious about the rise of dissatisfied, disengaged employees and high turnover rates with generational conflicts in the workplace.According to Gallup's (2022) report on the State of the Global Workplace, employee stress is at an all-time high, and employee engagement and well-being are stable yet still low. More than 40% of employees surveyed indicated feeling stressed at work, and only about one-third reported a general sense of well-being. Still, only 21% of survey respondents reported feeling engaged at work. Related to these changing workplace dynamics and employee expectations and needs, internal communicators are increasingly faced with challenges and technological changes while tasked with creating a shared identity and culture across an ever more diverse workforce. These challenges include, but are not limited to, creating a shared sense of community among employees across geographic locations, modes of workplace (hybrid, inperson and remote) and demographic differences, via organizational communication to increase job and organization engagement from employees and enhancing commitment and loyalty of employees.The Work Institute's (2022) Retention Report revealed that many employees' root causes of voluntary departure were multifaceted in that while better pay still mattered, but it did not as much as other reasons such as career development, health, family or work-life balance. In attracting and retaining top talents, organizations can no longer rely on monetary incentives and must understand the complexity of the employee-organization relationships in the contemporary workforce. Relatedly, no longer is internal communication considered a topdown, information-relaying funct...