As an introvert, small talk is one of those things that I’m generally not very good at, as the topics of conversation so often seem so wholly unimportant.  Alas, new research by Rutgers University suggests this isn’t always the case, and that small talk can actually be incredibly important to our wellbeing at work.

The research discovered that the act of small talk in the workplace had an “uplifting, yet distracting” effect on employees, with this positive finding tending to outweigh any negative aspects.  They also highlight that the remote working that so many of us have experienced during the covid-19 pandemic has made engaging in such small talk difficult.

“We demonstrate that engaging in small talk more than one normally would on average produces largely positive outcomes,” the researchers explain.  “This suggests people may ‘mistakenly seek solitude’ by avoiding small talk for the anticipated discomfort, possibly because they overestimate negative consequences and underestimate positive consequences.”

The researchers collected data from over 150 employees from a range of industries to try and understand the role small talk plays in the workplace.  It transpired that small talk not only helps our sense of wellbeing, but also seems to make people willing to go that bit further to help their colleagues, and even their employer.

It isn’t solely positive, however, and small talk was also found to disrupt our ability to focus, which can suck up the time that we might have spent helping a colleague.

Polite conversation

The researchers defined small talk as light-hearted, polite, yet largely superficial exchanges about non-work related topics.  The volunteers were tracked over 15 consecutive work days, and asked to complete three surveys each day for the duration of the experiment.

These surveys were designed to gauge how much small talk people engaged in, together with their overall emotions, their levels of distractedness, and willingness to go beyond their job requirements and help the organization.

Those employees that engaged in small talk appeared to feel happier, while also feeling more appreciated and acknowledged at work, with a greater connectivity to their colleagues, and their employer.

“Small talk softens controversial conversations, enhances mood, creates positive group climates and facilitates a sense of belonging,” the researchers say.  “Yet at the same time, many people consider small talk to be pointless, draining or distracting and therefore may self-impose isolation by arriving to meetings at the last minute to avoid talk about the previous night’s football game, or wearing headphones in the office to discourage pleasantries with co-workers.”

Adaptive behavior

Interestingly, those who gained the most from small talk were those who attempted to adapt their behavior according to their social environment.  Such people not only felt the benefits more greatly, but also suffered from fewer distractions than their peers.

These individuals, who the researchers refer to as ‘high self-monitors’, were able to read what was expected of them in conversation, and were therefore better at both starting and ending small talk style conversations without coming across as rude.

Those who struggled to do that, also struggled with the negative aspects of small talk.  They were found to go ‘off script’ more, and share excessive information or respond by saying something inappropriate.

A social lubricant

The researchers believe that small talk acts as a vital social lubricant that can ease us into important conversations at work, whether a performance review, a negotiation, or one of the many other important topics discussed at work.

It’s a social ritual that’s hard-baked into our day-to-day existence, which is why the Covid pandemic, and the move to remote work across the workforce, has been so challenging.

“The value of small talk is in face-to-face communication and it’s difficult to replicate that through remote settings,” the researchers say.  “The idea of small talk is that it’s spontaneous and that there’s a shared interaction where we come into contact with each other and share that interaction face to face. It’s really hard to replicate its value when you’re not located in the same setting.”