Remote work has complicated effects on employee engagement. While many employees appreciate the extra schedule flexibility, some also feel isolated and have fewer opportunities to socialize. Gallup polls from the COVID-19 crisis show that during this period, remote workers reported higher overall levels of engagement and well-being, but also an increase in negative emotions like worry, sadness, stress, loneliness, and anxiety.
With remote and hybrid work increasing in popularity, many business leaders wonder how to create more “water cooler talk” in their remote teams. In an office, people have a higher chance of casually chatting with one another. Yet, in a remote or hybrid environment, employees may be hesitant to call a spontaneous video conference just to chat.
Fortunately, new types of communication software are making it easier for colleagues to bond with each other while working from home. Leaders can improve employee engagement and retention by making the remote work environment more welcoming and less isolating.
What is Water Cooler Conversation?
If you haven’t heard the term “water cooler talk,” it’s pretty easy to understand. Just imagine a group of employees gathering around the proverbial water cooler to fill their cups and chat about their weekend.
While actual water coolers have only been around for about a hundred years, the concept of water cooler talk (as in casual conversation) is timeless. And the way employers view water cooler talk is changing. In the past, spending too much time chatting at work may have been seen as a sign of slacking on the job. But today, employers are increasingly conscious of the role team bonding plays in employee engagement.
This conclusion is supported by new research—according to Gallup, isolation can derail productivity by up to 21%. Moreover, social time improves team performance and accounts for more than 50% of improvements in communication patterns, according to research published in the Harvard Business Review. This is true even in highly efficiency-focused environments, such as call centers.
Benefits of Water Cooler Talk with WaterCooler
1. Helps Company Culture
Company culture is closely tied to effective communication, including water cooler talk. Grapevine communication and other forms of casual communication keep vital information flowing. Did you know that information from just 4% of your employees can end up reaching 70% of your company? Employees appreciate casual team-building activities and ice-breakers, too. Successful companies like Uber, Facebook, and Salesforce use team-building to create strong cultures that attract the best talent.
2. Improves Employee Retention
The reason most companies focus so much on employee engagement is that it’s closely linked with talent retention. According to Gallup, highly-engaged business units can have up to 59% lower staff turnover. Retention is an important metric because replacing skilled employees is very expensive. In fields where there’s a talent shortage, it can also be very difficult.
To give you an approximate idea of the cost of turnover, the Society for Human Resource Management estimates that each employee departure costs about one-third of that employee’s annual salary. That means for a US-based company, the cost of losing a single marketing manager would be approximately $35,672, according to the median annual salary for this job at the time of writing.
3. Interact Casually with Management
Another important effect of water cooler talk is that it opens up channels of communication between managers and employees. This helps create transparency within the company, which is a key part of a healthy corporate culture. Transparency builds trust and helps increase engagement. Research shows that 50% of workers feel their company is being held back by lack of transparency, and 70% say they’re most engaged in their job when senior leadership regularly communicates their strategy.
4. Improves Collaboration
A lot has been written about the dangers of working in silos. Especially in large organizations, employees may not always know everyone in their department or even everyone on their team. That distance can stifle collaboration.
Water cooler talk can bring employees together in new and unique ways. For example, at Coara, scheduled time slots for casual virtual conversations helped a Graphic Designer and a Sales Rep discover common interests, leading to regular, meaningful interactions.
5. Helps Creativity & Innovation
There’s more to work than just completing rote tasks. Being creative and generating new ideas is also highly important in the knowledge economy. Relaxed chats may actually lead to greater innovation than formal meetings or brainstorming sessions. Nate Tsang, founder and CEO of WallStreetZen, credits water cooler talk as the catalyst for starting his company.
6. Show Gratitude
A final benefit of water cooler talk is that it allows employees and management to show their appreciation for a job well done. Employee recognition has a strong effect on engagement. Seventy percent of employees say recognition at work makes them feel more emotionally connected to their peers, and recognized employees report higher levels of trust and productivity.
How WaterCooler Can Help
WaterCooler is a specialized software designed to facilitate these valuable interactions in a remote environment. Here's how it works:
- Pick Your Passion: Employees select topics and interests that excite them, ensuring conversations are engaging and relevant.
- Schedule Flexibly: Employees define their availability for virtual WaterCooler sessions, fitting seamlessly into their busy schedules.
- Engage Automatically: Our Discussion Initiator starts each 15-minute session with engaging questions or topics, eliminating the pressure to initiate conversations.
Experience the Benefits of WaterCooler
- Tailored Topics: Conversation starters based on employees’ interests make interactions more meaningful.
- Intelligent Matching: Connect employees with colleagues who share similar passions, fostering stronger bonds.
- Rank Blind Connections: Facilitate interactions across different levels and departments, promoting an inclusive and cohesive workplace.
- Secure and Compliant: WaterCooler is designed with security and compliance in mind, ensuring that all interactions meet industry standards.
With WaterCooler, remote organizations can enhance employee engagement, boost productivity, and foster a positive company culture, even within the constraints of remote work. Discover how WaterCooler can transform communication within your organization. Visit WaterCooler to learn more.
