ABSTRACT
The analysis is of two sections, first discusses features of the distribution, structural positioning and extent of small talk and social talk in a variety of workplace contexts and the relevance of these features in the analysis of power and politeness at work. The focus here, however, not on the invasion of social time by work talk, but rather on the distribution of social talk within official work time, where it clearly functions as a positive politeness or solidarity oriented strategy. Office-based social talk tended to reflect the influence of other factors, such as how well the participants knew each other, the relative status of participants and how busy they were, as well as the norms of the organisational culture. Some of these factors focuses on the more global social functions of non-task-oriented talk at work. In every social encounter participants are unavoidably involved in constructing, maintaining or modifying the interpersonal relationship between themselves and their addressee.
