Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About: Conversations at the Work-Family Interface

The interest in studying workplace conversations has grown, with increased scholarship focused on different types of work-specific conversations (e.g., gossip, incivility, small talk). Yet, family also comprises an important part of employees’ identity, meaning that employees may choose to integrate family discussions into the work domain, or take proactive steps to share important work moments with their family. In the current symposium, four papers aim to probe into the intersection of the work-family interface and conversations in an effort to understand how employees’ conversations with coworkers or family members end up not only affecting work and home relationships, but also performance across role domains. More specifically, the current papers highlight the role of venting about family at work; discussing parenting in the workplace as a means of intellectual stimulation; sharing about work with children to shape employees’ and children’s identities; and conversational challenges that working parents of teenagers face. The Maladaptive and Adaptive Effects of Receipt of Venting at Work Author: Allison S. Gabriel; Purdue U., West Lafayette Author: Joel Koopman; Texas A&M U. Author: Christopher C. Rosen; U. of Arkansas Author: Young Eun Lee; Florida State U. Author: Aqsa Dutli; Purdue U., West Lafayette Author: John Bush; U. of Central Florida The Enriching Benefits of Workplace Parenting Conversations for Parenting and Work Relationships Author: Yuxin Lin; - Author: Zhengguang Liu; Zhejiang U. Author: Allison S. Gabriel; Purdue U., West Lafayette Parents’ Sharing of Work Experiences with their Children Shapes Parents’ and Children’s Identities Author: Elizabeth A. Adair; California State U., Monterey Bay Author: Theresa M. Glomb; U. of Minnesota Author: Patricia Caulfield Dahm; U. of Kansas Understanding Family-Supervisor Support of Working Mothers of Teenagers Author: Laura McAndrews Little; U. of Georgia Author: Kelly Schwind Wilson; Purdue U., West Lafayette Author: Rachel Burgess; W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State U.