Meetings are increasingly becoming the primary point of interaction between colleagues in the workplace, according to new research from Kahoot!, which suggests that traditional informal “watercooler” conversations are fading as hybrid and digital working patterns become more established.
The findings indicate that structured meetings are now often the only consistent space where employees engage with colleagues beyond their immediate teams, potentially limiting the ability of workforces to build connections among employees.
Based on a survey of 4,000 office workers, the report highlights how digital tools have expanded communication channels but have not necessarily strengthened interpersonal connection. As a result, meetings are evolving from purely operational sessions into key touchpoints for both work and workplace relationships.
Meetings Become the Primary Point of Workplace Interaction
The research suggests that for many employees, meetings have become the main, and sometimes only, opportunity to interact with colleagues outside their immediate teams. This reflects a wider decline in spontaneous, informal workplace exchanges that once helped shape office culture.
As hybrid working and messaging platforms reduce the need for face-to-face contact, structured meetings are absorbing more of the day-to-day communication load. While this ensures work continues efficiently, it also changes the nature of interaction itself.
Instead of informal conversations across desks or shared spaces, employees are increasingly engaging through scheduled, agenda-driven sessions. This makes communication more structured but also more transactional in tone.
The report suggests that while communication volume remains high, the depth and diversity of workplace interaction is becoming more limited, particularly across distributed teams.
Loneliness, Boundaries and the Changing Nature of Connection
Alongside this shift, the findings highlight a tension in how employees experience workplace relationships. Many workers say they want closer connections with colleagues, even as a significant proportion also prefer to maintain distance in order to protect work-life boundaries.
This creates a contradiction at the centre of modern workplace culture: employees are seeking connection but within increasingly defined limits that can make relationships harder to build naturally.
Younger employees appear particularly affected. Gen Z workers are more likely to report feeling disconnected at work while also expressing a stronger desire for closer workplace friendships.
As Andrew Tiscoe, Commercial Excellence at Kahoot, notes:
“We are more “connected” than ever, yet communicating less than ever.
The data is clear: hidden behind messaging apps, workplace trust and performance are taking a hit. If you want better business results, you have to equip leaders to build actual human connection.”
The findings suggest that connection remains a priority for employees, but it is becoming harder to sustain in a consistent and organic way as ways of working change.
Why Informal “Watercooler” Moments Still Matter
The decline of informal interaction raises questions about what is lost when spontaneous workplace conversations disappear. Traditionally, watercooler moments have played an important role in building trust, strengthening relationships, and supporting collaboration across teams. Indeed, many CEOs have highlighted how some of the best ideas emerge from informal interactions between people across departments meeting at the water cooler or canteen.
It is no wonder that the research suggests these informal exchanges that take place in meetings still carry measurable value. A majority of employees say meetings are more effective when colleagues take time to connect before moving into business discussions, indicating that relational context can improve engagement and productivity.
Without these moments, workplace communication risks becoming more purely transactional. Employees may still collaborate effectively but without the familiarity and psychological safety that develops through casual, repeated interaction.
This creates a challenge for organisations: how to preserve human connection in environments where informal encounters no longer happen naturally yet remain important to effective teamwork.
It also places greater emphasis on the design of meetings themselves. As informal spaces disappear, organisations are increasingly relying on structured gatherings to provide both operational alignment and social connection.
Some companies are already experimenting with more interactive meeting formats, introducing elements such as discussions, polls, and brief informal check-ins to encourage participation and relationship-building within the working day.
However, the findings suggest these interventions can only partially replicate the effects of organic, unstructured interaction. Without broader cultural changes, organisations risk overloading meetings with expectations they were not originally designed to carry.
Ultimately, the research points to a workplace in transition. As informal interaction declines, meetings are becoming one of the last remaining structured environments where connection still regularly occurs, raising important questions about how organisations balance productivity with the human relationships that underpin it.
