in defence of small talk

Do you ever find yourself rolling your eyes at the necessity of inane chitchat? Does anyone really care what their co-workers did on the weekend? Does anyone really want to discuss the negative impact cold weather is having on your day with that PR rep? Ok, it's not all bad, and there's certainly a good reason for making small talk. An article on the Guardian website reminds us that without it, work mightn't be as pleasant.

Small talk with colleagues might make you feel like the office-equivalent of a cow, just blankly chewing on the same old cud over and over, but what, I ask, would you rather do? Just launch straight in with the purpose of your call with no initial niceties whatsoever? Face it, there are people who do that already, and they're the ones you think are really weird.

These little observations we make to each other on the phone, on email, or even in person, may be petty and inane, but in their own shy way they are rather lovely. You're essentially saying to whoever it may be that, despite the fact you don't know each other and never will, you are willing to spend a few moments talking pointlessly at one another to indicate that you regard each other as more than just another obstacle to be surmounted in your separate scrabbles for professional advancement.