Walk the Week - Water Cooler Conversations - Real and Virtual

In these days working from home, initially from necessity and now from choice, has become an everyday norm for many of us around the globe. There is no stressful commute: we just get out of bed have breakfast, deal with any family matters, like taking the children to school – and then go into our study/spare room/ attic room or even bedroom, switch on our computers and “off to work we go”. We have lots of Teams and Zoom calls and meetings when we “communicate” with colleagues, but generally just focusing on work issues. Gone then for the most part are those days when we had lots of informal contact with colleagues, direct reports and bosses. Open plan offices encourage and facilitate such conversations with those sitting around you. And then there are the so called “water cooler breaks” where we have or at least had many useful unstructured conversations. These could be in your place of work or over a coffee at Starbucks, Pret a Manger or Costa. From this you get a much better feel for issues and what colleagues really think. I now try to make a habit, even though I may have no face to face meetings, to go into one of our offices at least once a week for this informal networking. This week in addition to discussing various work matters and doing various Teams calls, I was able to bounce some ideas off colleagues and said hallo to our European Chief Executive.

And I am not alone in thinking this. See this blog Water Cooler Talk: 6 Tips on How to Make It More Beneficial for Your Team which commences:  

“Casual conversations in the workplace – sometimes known as ‘water cooler talk’ can have many benefits when it comes to team bonding and relationship building, which in turn is beneficial for productivity and employee morale. Unfortunately, many managers see it as unproductive time and actively discourage it. With the right attitude and approach to watercooler talk, you can harness its usefulness.”

It then proposes the benefits these breaks bring include:

·       It helps to build relationships and assists with collaboration

·       It helps with problem solving and innovation

·       Breaks are beneficial for wellbeing

See also this blog Water Cooler Chat – 11 Smart Reasons to Encourage It which says this  “is what happens when colleagues take a break from work and socialize with each other. It’s a chance to let everyone reset by talking about less stressful things, like hobbies and personal interests—fun topics not associated with work.”

It observes that although “some managers think that water cooler chat hinders productivity in the workplace” there are in fact many benefits including:

·       It builds the company culture.

·       It brings people out of their shells.

·       It provides casual facetime with management.

It also suggests some Do’s and Don’ts like “Do discuss interests” and“ Don't discuss salary or promotions.” concluding 

“Water cooler chat is just as important (if not more so) in the digital age than ever before. The best managers already know it’s beneficial—and you’re holding your teams back if you do not give them the freedom to be human. All you have to do is articulate a set of guidelines, put trust in the people you hired, and let people talk.”

There is even a guide Benefits of Spontaneous Water Cooler Chats: The Ultimate Guide which defines the topic as follows:

“conversations that engage when they take a break from work and socialize with each other over a trip to the water cooler or drinking fountain. The setting around the drinking area is often less formal, allowing employees to engage in casual talk and break the monotony of being stuck at the desk all day.”

And then lists benefits including “No agenda conversations/meetings and brainstorming.”

Concluding:

“Water cooler talks do not deserve the negative connotations often attached to them. They play a massive role in helping employees de-stress, get out of their shells, and get to know each other while building personal connections that make working together easier.”

The really interesting thing about this topic is that it is also possible to encourage “virtual water cooler breaks”, developing our online work behaviour to encompass more informal contact.  See this Forbes article Returning To The Virtual Watercooler: How To Improve Your Company's Culture With A Remote Team which proposes that you create virtual downtime: 

“Add in opportunities and norms that encourage casual interactions. As an example, my company orders lunch for everyone and has it delivered to their homes ahead of our virtual all-hands meetings.”

It also suggests “schedule calls five minutes off the hour or half-hour to give time for pre-meeting banter”.

See also this blog The Virtual Water Cooler | Why you need it + how to do it which says “The answer is to create a remote version — the virtual water cooler. This is a digital situation that allows people to bond in a way similar to the in-person opportunities that exist in the physical office. While the scenarios may have to be more structured rather than spontaneous, working from home is no excuse to stop the conversation!”

It proposes some ideas to achieve this:

“1. Have a question of the day

An easy way to keep the conversation happening is to have an ice breaker question of the day asked by a designated person in the company’s digital chatroom of choice (i.e. Slack, Google Hangouts, etc.).

2. Play a game

During a company virtual meeting on a video call, try playing an online game for Zoom! This allows team members to loosen up and feel more comfortable and connected to the people on the other side of the screen.

3. Shout out team members

The whole point of facilitating a virtual water cooler is to help bridge the conversational gaps that happen from remote work. One way to get people talking is to shout out team members and acknowledge their accomplishments!”

I also like this blog What is a virtual water cooler & how to set one up which proposes “By creating a shared digital space intentionally designed for informal interaction, you can offer employees an avenue to better understand one another, catch up on events they may have missed, join in conversations (even asynchronously), share photos or stories, or even connect directly by voice or video conferencing.”

And finally have a look at this BBC article The rise of the ‘virtual water cooler’ commenting generally: 

“In the health sector, researchers have identified how corridor conversations are an important way to deal with crises and complexity. These impromptu encounters can often result in colleagues (often unknowingly) working out how to fix problems, deal with crises, de-stress, and avoid reinventing the wheel.

These are “liminal spaces” that are beyond formal definition. As soon as we try to design them too tightly, they tend to flee elsewhere – the stairwell, the bus stop, the dead space at the back of the building.”

And then on the virtual world:

“The online water coolers and corridors can be found in sidebar conversations in the one-on-one chats in Zoom meetings. You’ll find people creating informal WhatsApp groups for out-of-earshot commenting, alongside the more formal channels of online conferences.”

It discusses how apps might help achieve this but observes “It’s more likely that the real virtual water cooler will pop up outside of the official channels.”

Water cooler conversations may promote work success, but ultimately it’s about people finding ways to get on in the physical or virtual workspace which coincidentally improve work output.

As Kal Penn the American actor, author, and former White House staff member shrewdly observed:

“The water cooler conversation in every job I've had is sports, it's what did you do this weekend, it's 'How are your parents doing?'”