Top Highlights

• A recent INSEAD study of more than 500 professionals working remotely across the world showed that the teams that were thriving in the new virtual environment were formally scheduling social gatherings involving quizzes, shared playlists, book recommendations, and movie clubs. Although this mandatory “fun” might have felt a little awkward at first,...
• Small talk is important to us in other ways, putting us at ease and helping us transition to more serious topics like negotiations, job interviews, sales pitches, and performance evaluations
• The tidbits we learn about our colleagues — for instance, that they play guitar or love dogs — build rapport and deepen trust
• Research even suggests that chance encounters and spontaneous conversations with our coworkers can spark collaboration, improving our creativity, innovation, and performance
• many of us are mourning the loss of small talk during the pandemic-driven work-from-home boom.

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