Meaning of water cooler effect | Babel Free

Definitions

The tendency of employees to gather informally around a water cooler in order to socialize and to share information.

Examples

“The water cooler effect represents a belief that conversations that develop⟳ in and around a water fountain, or in a cafeteria, significantly enable knowledge transfer⟳, which indirectly contributes to positive work⟳ relationships [10].”

“It's not hard to imagine⟳ that the water cooler effect will gradually fade⟳ in importance as workforces become⟳ more and more distributed and as technologies allow⟳ workers to collaborate more effectively across huge distances.”

“The Water Cooler Effect: Why a Friendly Chat Is the Most Important Part of the Work⟳ Day […] The reason⟳ that water coolers are so important […] [is] that they create⟳ a nexus of social activity in the workplace.”

“From an organizational perspective, cyberslacking may also create⟳ positive externalities in terms of teleworkers being able to create⟳ virtual water cooler effects in terms of online chatting with affiliated and nonaffiliated workers.”

“The Super Bowl, the biggest TV show⟳ of the year, became a secular holiday gathering that rivals Christmas. And before the work-from-home era, networks were conscious of the “water-cooler effect” in offices.”

CEFR level