"TALKING ACROSS THE WORLD" Symposium 
Post-covid reflections on English language communication at work

20th May 2022

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Organized by the
Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE),
Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Over the last two years, the global pandemic has triggered momentous workplace changes and accelerated technological innovation and solutions to cope with challenges in professional communication. Even the word ‘workplace’ requires redefinition; is it home, is it office or somewhere else altogether?

Businesses and workplaces, including educational institutions such as schools, are experiencing these changes in many different ways, and there seems to be general uncertainty as to which changes will be permanent and which are temporary. For example, will work and communication revert to being mostly face-to-face again, or will working from home and virtual communication be a permanent change, at least for some industries? Many places are returning to ‘normal’ work and life, but this ‘new normal’ entails profound changes. Businesses and professional workplaces are redefining their workspaces and modes of communication, be it internal communication, or external communication.

So now is the time to stand back and reflect on the realities of the post-covid professional world. The big question we pose for this TAW Symposium is ‘What are the implications of a post-covid world of work for business and professional communication?’  Specifically, we look at the impact of the pandemic on professional communication in three areas, namely, communication and teaching in schools, workplace communication in corporations, and external business communication like marketing and customer service. The symposium brings together workplace practitioners (teachers, school/business management, marketing experts) and academics in these areas to problematise key issues; to report on studies and workplace initiatives already in action; and collaboratively, to set an agenda for professional and business communication research going forward.