Are you sure you want to say that? Another difficulty about online communication is just how many ways a message can be interpreted. It’s also a lot easier to be careless and brusque when you’re not making eye contact with the person you’re speaking to. Maybe, after months of quarantine, your coworkers feel less real — their in-the-flesh presence is fading as they become more associated with a name and avatar. “A lot of the responses I get from coworkers via Slack seem more aggressive and anxiety-driven, which causes some conflict and tension that I think wouldn't exist if we were able to talk things out in-person,” says Jessica. “It feels as though my coworkers are more territorial over their work. I think people are more quick now to take credit for what they do right, and play the blame game for something they do wrong. In part, I think this is because it's easier to get away with when it's all remote and not face-to-face.”