{"id":4587,"date":"2025-05-08T17:39:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T17:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aomtodayprod.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=4587"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:40:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:40:57","slug":"progressing-fromsmall-talk-to-workplace-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/progressing-fromsmall-talk-to-workplace-friendship\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressing from Small Talk to Workplace Friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher <\/a><\/p>\r\n

When it comes to striking the right balance between personal and professional when making small talk and forming friendships at work, common sense is a good guide for most people.<\/p>\r\n

Academy of Management Scholar Jessica Methot<\/a> of Rutgers University and the University of Exeter\u2014who cowrote an Academy of Management Journal article <\/a><\/em>on that topic with Emily Rosado-Solomon<\/a> of Babson College, Patrick Downes<\/a> of the University of Kansas, and Allison Gabriel<\/a> of Purdue University\u2014said workers should be careful about sharing details about their personal life.<\/p>\r\n

At work, \u201cwe\u2019re still prioritizing professionalism, and that\u2019s what we need to do with small talk too,\u201d Methot said. \u201cThe goal of small talk is to acknowledge someone, remain superficial, and stay light-hearted, positive, polite, respectful \u2026 those are really the key features and goals that we have when we\u2019re engaging in informal types of communication at work.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBut there are other things that organizations\u2019 team leaders and managers can do, as well as employees can do, to ensure that we are still either productive engaging in this small talk or at least not avoiding it unnecessarily,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n

Daily check-ins are important, Methot noted.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re managing a virtual team, we want to make sure that our team knows that we still recognize that they\u2019re there, that we want to make sure that they\u2019re okay, and that they have the support that they need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

A sample of Methot\u2019s AOM research findings:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n