dc.contributor.author | Methot, JR | |
dc.contributor.author | Rosado-Solomon, EH | |
dc.contributor.author | Downes, P | |
dc.contributor.author | Gabriel, AS | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-11-16T09:16:18Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-06-05 | |
dc.description.abstract | Small talk—short, superficial, or trivial communication not core to task completion—is normative and ubiquitous in organizations. Although small talk comprises one-third of adults’ speech, its effects at work have been discounted. Integrating theories of interaction rituals and micro-role transitions, we explore how and why seemingly inconsequential conversations during the workday generate meaningful effects on employees’ experiences. In a sample of employed adults from a Northeast US University’s alumni database and LinkedIn (n = 151), we used an experience sampling method (ESM) to capture within-individual variation in small talk over three weeks. We also conducted a validation of our daily small talk measure with Masters students from a Northeastern US University (n = 73) and two samples of employed adults registered with Amazon Turk (n = 180 and n = 202). Results showed that, on one hand, small talk enhanced employees’ daily positive social emotions at work, which translated into heightened organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and well-being at the end of the workday; on the other hand, small talk disrupted employees’ ability to cognitively engage in their work, which compromised their OCB. Our results also showed higher levels of trait-level self-monitoring mitigated the negative effects of small talk on work engagement. Combined, results suggest that the polite, ritualistic, and formulaic nature of small talk is often uplifting yet distracting. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Published online 5 June 2020 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.5465/amj.2018.1474 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/123633 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Academy of Management | en_GB |
dc.rights.embargoreason | Under embargo until 5 June 2021 in compliance with publisher policy | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2020 Academy of Management | en_GB |
dc.subject | workplace communication | en_GB |
dc.subject | small talk | en_GB |
dc.subject | well-being | en_GB |
dc.subject | OCB | en_GB |
dc.subject | experience sampling method | en_GB |
dc.title | Office Chit-Chat as a Social Ritual: The Uplifting Yet Distracting Effects of Daily Small Talk at Work | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2020-11-16T09:16:18Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0001-4273 | |
exeter.article-number | amj.2018.1474 | en_GB |
dc.description | This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Academy of Management via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.identifier.journal | Academy of Management Journal | en_GB |
dc.rights.uri | http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved | en_GB |
rioxxterms.version | AM | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2020-06-05 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2020-11-16T09:14:00Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | AM | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2021-06-04T23:00:00Z | |
refterms.panel | C | en_GB |