“In a world of digital exhaustion, reading carefully is the new listening, and writing clearly is the new empathy.”

ERICA DHAWAN

Erica Dhawan, Author, and Keynote Speaker on Leadership & Collaboration, is the person leaders call when they want to break team silos, drive exponential growth and innovate through teamwork.

And here is what her research is telling us in 2026: 70% of workplace communication is now virtual, and this shift has created a massive “engagement gap.” When we lose physical cues like a smile or a nod, employees often feel invisible, misunderstood, or anxious.

This shift to virtual communication causes miscommunication that could be costing your organization millions annually.

Here are the 5 most common challenges Erica sees, and how you can fix them:

1. Eliminating “Digital Anxiety”

A primary driver of disengagement is the stress of interpreting ambiguous messages. Erica notes that an employee can spend hours overthinking a two-word email like “Call me” or “See me.”

• Engagement Fix: Engagement increases when leaders practice “Concrete Empathy.” This means being explicit about the “Why” and “When.” Instead of “Call me,” a high-engagement leader writes: “Call me at 4 PM to discuss the Great Lakes project—nothing urgent, just a quick check-in.” 

2. “Reading is the New Listening”

In traditional engagement models, “listening” meant eye contact. In 2026, employees feel engaged when they feel heard digitally.

• Engagement Fix: If a leader skims an employee’s detailed proposal and responds with just “OK,” the employee feels devalued. Erica argues that “Reading Carefully” (addressing every point in a message) is the digital equivalent of making eye contact. It signals that the employee’s work matters. 

3. The Hybrid Choice & Proximity Bias

Engagement often drops for remote workers who feel like “second-class citizens” compared to those in the office.

• Engagement Fix: Erica suggests the “Remote-First” rule. If even one person is remote, everyone—including the boss in the office—should log in via their own laptop. This levels the “digital playing field,” ensuring remote employees don’t miss out on side conversations or physical cues, which keeps their engagement levels high.

4. Visible Valuation (The “Value Visibly” Law)

One of the highest drivers of engagement is recognition. However, a “pat on the back” doesn’t exist on Slack.

• Engagement Fix: Leaders must move from passive appreciation to Active Digital Recognition. This involves using “public channels” for praise and being specific.
  • Low Engagement: A thumbs-up emoji on a finished task.
  • High Engagement: A public post stating, “The way Sarah organized the data in slide 4 made the client’s decision 10x easier. Great attention to detail.”

5. Combatting “Digital Exhaustion”

Erica identifies that “constant connectivity” actually leads to disengagement because employees burn out.

• Engagement Fix: Personal leadership in 2026 involves setting “Communication Norms.” Teams that agree on response times (e.g., “Internal emails = 24 hours, Slack = 4 hours”) report higher engagement because employees feel they have permission to disconnect and focus on “Deep Work.”

About Erica Dhawan – Leading Authority on Collaboration and Innovation:

Erica Dhawan is an internationally recognized leading authority, speaker and advisor on 21st century teamwork, collaboration and innovation. Named as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, she is the author of two bestselling books, Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence and Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance.

To learn more about Erica, contact us at 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected]