The question, “Where do you work?” used to be answered by sharing your employer’s name. Today, however, it could also include the physical location, such as working from home, in the office full-time or a combination. Whether your coworkers are down the hall or time zones away, a good percentage of your communication will be virtual. 

“It’s commonplace to use instant messaging and email to communicate with people who are only a cubicle away,” said Andrew Brodsky, assistant professor of management at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Ping: The Secrets of Successful Virtual Communication. “But people often approach their workplace communication somewhat mindlessly. They use email because they’ve always used email for this. Or they have a meeting because we’ve always had meetings for this.”

Humans have been interacting with each other for thousands of years, but virtual communication on the scale of human history is recent, which means we haven’t yet mastered its best usage, said Brodsky. Unfortunately, your choice of communication tool can undermine your ability to build strong relationships and corporate culture by opening the door to misunderstandings or missed opportunities to connect.