Before Covid-19 and social distancing, office small talk was a daily ritual for many professionals. These small connections, whilst only brief, helped allow colleagues to feel emotionally connected to one another, and played a crucial role in improving that team-spirit. Recent research has found that on days where professionals made more small talk than usual, they experienced more positive emotions, were less burned out and were more likely to go out of their way to help their colleagues.
But in this new world of work, it has become increasingly difficult to engage in small talk with colleagues, with professionals feeling more and more isolated from their teams. So what can be done?
This article in Harvard Business Review provides expert advice to managers and employees for improving their social interactions in the new remote age.
Read the full article here: https://hbr.org/2021/03/remote-workers-need-small-talk-too.
Methot, “Remote Workers Need Small Talk, Too”. HBR (March 2021)