Just over eight-tenths of UK employees have admitted that they actually miss office small talk.
This is according to CV-Library, who found that 81 per cent of workers have said they miss office small talk with their colleagues, with staff aged 55-64-years-old missing it the most at 83 per cent. With 25-34-year olds coming a close second, just 0.1 per cent lower than 55-64-year-olds.
When asked what are the most popular topics discussed with other colleagues during the lockdown, 51 per cent said the weather, 47 per cent said the weekends, 26 per cent said their workload with what’s on TV coming in at 16 per cent.
The most common areas at work for making small talk are the kitchen (35 per cent), in meetings (20 per cent) and 11 per cent is smoking areas. However, just under a third (30 per cent) said they find small talk awkward.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library said:
As human beings, we need face-to-face interaction with one another in order to feel connected, but unfortunately this just isn’t an option right now. We’ve been in lockdown for nearly two months and it’s no wonder that Brits are missing their colleagues and the working environment. Thankfully, technology enables us to easily see and speak to the people we work with every day; but there may well be individuals that you aren’t interacting with as much as you would ordinarily.
While some professions were able to go ‘back to work’ this week, many of us will be away from the workplace for some time; so, think about how you can improve your engagement with others. Make sure you’re checking in with colleagues and asking how they are – especially individuals who may live by themselves or who are currently on furlough. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until we’re back making small talk face-to-face, but in the meantime, pick up the phone or schedule in a video call – it can make all the difference.
In order to collate these results, CV-LIbrary spoke to 1,200 UK employees.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
