Researchers found that the ritual negatively impacted non-native language speakers, neurodivergent employees, and expatriates. Additionally, Rosado-Solomon notes, industries that rely on hourly work can unintentionally penalize employees for engaging in small talk in the company’s drive for employee productivity.Īnd not everyone benefits from small talk. Small talk pulls employees away from their work, making it challenging to return to the task at hand and creating a “time famine” in which employees feel rushed to finish their work at the end of the day. Of course, small talk can also be distracting for employees, says study coauthor Jessica Methot, an associate professor of human resource management at Rutgers University. Small talk is potentially a mechanism through which they can create even just moments of a shared reality,” says Emily Rosado-Solomon, an assistant professor of management at Babson College and coauthor of the study.
“That is something for leaders to consider if they want to connect with their subordinates. Research participants experienced a mood and energy boost from the ritual, and it helped employees transition into more serious conversations, such as interviews, performance reviews, or negotiations.įor CEOs, engaging in small talk can be a particularly effective way to build camaraderie with employees. Overall, however, researchers found small talk overwhelmingly positive for all employees, regardless of their communication preferences.
On one hand, it can increase employee well-being and promote workplace citizenship, but it also distracts from completing tasks, hurting productivity. But research published in 2020 found that small talk has positive and negative effects in the office. Despite its prevalence, management research has largely overlooked small talk’s role in the workplace.
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