The average HR professional spends about half an hour each day nattering to colleagues about non-work-related issues and is more likely than any other profession to share a personal secret.
These are the key findings of a survey conducted among 2,000 office staff by Mars Drinks Office Connections.
It revealed that, while an average of 33.6% of those questioned had divulged private information to a co-worker, the figure rose to 37.6% among HR practitioners.
The latter also spent 29 minutes and 26 seconds every day simply chatting, with family being the favourite topic of conversation, followed by last night’s TV programmes and celebrity gossip. About one in six said that they would rather gossip on a face-to-face basis, however, while a third preferred to ‘phone or email.
Jenni Morgan, trade marketing manager for Mars Drinks Office Connections, said: “While emails, phone calls and even social media are certainly common ways for people to communicate with each other in the office, it’s encouraging to see that staff are taking the time to step away from their desks and engage with their colleagues in a more personal way.”
Not only was such an approach a positive way of nurturing working relationships, it could also help people become more productive and create a happier office environment, she added.
When it came to appropriate behaviour, however, three quarters of HR professionals felt that it was unacceptable to use terms such as ‘love’, ‘pet’ or ‘babe’ when referring to workmates.
Some 54.7% felt it was fine to put kisses on the end of work-related emails though, while just under three quarters believed that it was acceptable to use smiley faces or other emoticons.
A third likewise said that office environments had recently become much less formal than they used to be, while just under a quarter said that they were now having more fun at work than ever before.
One Response
great read
Very interesting findings in this article. I think most people are guilty of chatting with their colleague and HR is department that does require people who have good communication and interpersonal skills. In a way, it is nice to see that people are stepping away from social media and technology to communicate in person.
David Evand, commercial director at accessplanit, specialist in learning management software and learning management system.