Employees' wearable measure of face-to-face communication relates to their positive psychological capital, well-being

Abstract

The spread of digital communication technology has enabled office workers to perform many tasks at remote locations such as at home, in cafes, and in shared offices. However, remote workers are likely to feel anxious about the decline in their trust with colleagues and the loss of opportunities to obtain important information. Employee well-being is an important management issue as it relates to the productivity and growth potential of an organization. The purpose of this study is to identify the features of communication in the workplace that are important for maintaining the well-being of employees. We aim to determine behaviors that employees should prioritize in their respective situations of remote work and office work. As a research approach, real-time face-to-face communication data detected by a wearable sensor is used. The data was classified as communication characteristics of total time, variety, frequency, and interactivity. We analyzed this face-to-face, real-time communication data in relation to Psychological Capital (PsyCap), a positive multi-dimensional construct derived by Fred Luthans consisting of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism or the HERO within. There is a growing body of published research which has clearly demonstrated PsyCap is related to and causes employee improved performance and well-being. A experiment found that employees with high PsyCap tend to talk with diverse persons for a relatively short period of time in the workplace and also have a relatively long time of interactive dialogue. It turned out that these elements of face-to-face communication are related to the credibility to oneself and their team. In particular, taking a PsyCap perspective and approach when communicating (i.e., internally and exhibiting externally) with colleagues and team-mates should promote not only improved communication but also well-being.