Comparing State of Teams 2025 and the Workplace communication atlas

Our Workplace communication atlas provides guidelines for improving team communication, leading to improved collaboration and productivity that benefits the organisation they work for. The atlas is the result of a survey of 1,000 UK-based workers about the largest obstacles they faced regarding workplace language. We wanted to see if this year's State of Teams supported our findings and recommendations in the atlas.

As can be anticipated, both documents have a section on AI. The State of Teams report discovered that an enormous 96% of executives are unsure how to get their teams to use AI more effectively. The Workplace communication atlas demonstrated that there is strong acceptance among workers for their teammates to use AI to communicate with them, with a reported 72% who are happy to receive AI replies to their messages from colleagues. Both reports focus on the benefits of utilising new technology to your advantage, improving ways of working and raising productivity. Organisations risk slipping behind their competitors by not including AI tools in their inventory.

Our survey discovered that 43% of workers found misinterpreting tone or context their greatest language challenge at work, while Atlassian highlights how team dynamics can be disrupted by poor or unclear communication. This can result in conflicts and inefficiencies, forcing teams to take longer to complete work. The State of Teams report recommends workers establish clear communication channels to keep everyone up-to-date and informed. As many individuals have their own preferred way of interacting at work, information can be missed or needlessly duplicated when an organisation has multiple communication tools that are not connected to each other. For instance, email was the top method of communication, with 84% ranking it as one of their favourites; instant messaging, like Slack, was second at 64%, while video calls came in third at 59%. Our atlas highlights the importance of using the proper channels for the best purposes and recommends employers advise their teams on which methods to use at the appropriate time. This recommendation also ties in with another Atlassian finding that teams struggle to find the correct information at the right time—25% of executives and teams spend a quarter of their workweek just trying to find information that has been scattered across different places.

Written language can be given more context with the use of emojis. The Workplace communication atlas states that 79% of workers use emojis in emails. While these pictorial representations of human emotions can make some messages clearer, the sheer number of emojis and their often quickly changing meanings can also cause confusion. Just over a quarter of respondents to the atlas' survey have experienced misunderstandings at work because of emojis. Similarly, The State of Teams report acknowledges that informal communication styles can either strengthen or weaken team bonds. Atlassian states that informal communication can aid in encouraging people to comfortably voice their opinions or desires for change. However, the report points out that other more-relaxed meetings, such as status updates and alignment meetings, take time away from teams doing productive work to develop the next big idea. As our atlas highlights the potential for generational and cultural variations in emoji use and interpretation, people should be cautious when using them in a professional setting.

Both the State of Teams and the Workplace communication atlas highlight the benefits of open communication, being receptive to continuous feedback, and using AI to improve the understanding of language between individuals quickly. By pre-emptively avoiding confusion and misunderstandings with clearly communicated expectations and accessible guidelines, teams can work faster and better. Getting a workforce to communicate seamlessly is a low-cost, quick win for any organisation. By embracing established communication strategies, leveraging technology intelligently, and creating flexible and understanding teams, companies can effortlessly boost their competitive advantage and maintain a more cooperative environment for their staff.