Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance
IntroductionSmall talk, an informal social interaction in workplaces, has been overlooked in research on safety performance, which traditionally focuses on organizational factors (e.g., safety climate, leadership). Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study explores its dual effe...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1622001/full |
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| author | Pan Liu Mingyu Zhang Ru Guo Caili Duan Bixiang Shi Bolu Wei |
| author_facet | Pan Liu Mingyu Zhang Ru Guo Caili Duan Bixiang Shi Bolu Wei |
| author_sort | Pan Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionSmall talk, an informal social interaction in workplaces, has been overlooked in research on safety performance, which traditionally focuses on organizational factors (e.g., safety climate, leadership). Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study explores its dual effects on employees’ safety performance, proposing that small talk may enhance safety performance via resource gain (psychological availability) and undermine it via resource loss (work absorption).MethodsData was collected from 136 full-time employees in China through self-reported questionnaires, measuring small talk, psychological availability, work absorption, and safety performance. Path analysis and bootstrapping approach were conducted to test for the direct and indirect effects of small talk.ResultsThe results confirmed the dual effects of small talk on safety performance: small talk positively predicted safety performance through increasing psychological availability, while negatively predicted safety performance by reducing work absorption.DiscussionThis study advances safety research by highlighting small talk as a micro-level determinant of safety performance, and enriches COR theory by illustrating resource gain/loss mechanisms in social interactions. Practically, it offers insights for managing informal communication to balance relational benefits and task focus, optimizing workplace safety. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5bc719f893a94f0c8d3427552a87992b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-5bc719f893a94f0c8d3427552a87992b2025-08-20T03:37:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-08-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.16220011622001Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performancePan Liu0Mingyu Zhang1Ru Guo2Caili Duan3Bixiang Shi4Bolu Wei5China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, ChinaBeijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, ChinaOpen University of China, Beijing, ChinaHebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, ChinaCenter for Strategic Studies, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing, ChinaChina Academy of Safety Science and Technology, Beijing, ChinaIntroductionSmall talk, an informal social interaction in workplaces, has been overlooked in research on safety performance, which traditionally focuses on organizational factors (e.g., safety climate, leadership). Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study explores its dual effects on employees’ safety performance, proposing that small talk may enhance safety performance via resource gain (psychological availability) and undermine it via resource loss (work absorption).MethodsData was collected from 136 full-time employees in China through self-reported questionnaires, measuring small talk, psychological availability, work absorption, and safety performance. Path analysis and bootstrapping approach were conducted to test for the direct and indirect effects of small talk.ResultsThe results confirmed the dual effects of small talk on safety performance: small talk positively predicted safety performance through increasing psychological availability, while negatively predicted safety performance by reducing work absorption.DiscussionThis study advances safety research by highlighting small talk as a micro-level determinant of safety performance, and enriches COR theory by illustrating resource gain/loss mechanisms in social interactions. Practically, it offers insights for managing informal communication to balance relational benefits and task focus, optimizing workplace safety.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1622001/fullsmall talksafety performanceCOR theorypsychological availabilitywork absorption |
| spellingShingle | Pan Liu Mingyu Zhang Ru Guo Caili Duan Bixiang Shi Bolu Wei Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance Frontiers in Psychology small talk safety performance COR theory psychological availability work absorption |
| title | Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance |
| title_full | Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance |
| title_fullStr | Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance |
| title_short | Gain or loss? Examining the dual effects of small talk on employees’ safety performance |
| title_sort | gain or loss examining the dual effects of small talk on employees safety performance |
| topic | small talk safety performance COR theory psychological availability work absorption |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1622001/full |
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