麻豆淫院

Should you share personal information with others at work鈥攐r keep conversations strictly professional?

According to new research from the University of Michigan, the answer depends on what you share, why you share it and how your colleague responds.

The study, in Emotion, reveals that self-disclosure in the workplace can meaningfully shape employees' emotional well-being, energy levels and sense of connection鈥攂ut not all disclosures are created equal.

"People spend a great deal of time talking with co-workers, yet we know surprisingly little about how these conversations affect their inner lives," said Elizabeth Trinh, one of the study's lead authors and a doctoral candidate in management and organizations at the Ross School of Business. "Our findings show that workplace sharing can be a powerful source of connection and energy鈥攂ut it can also backfire."

The research draws on data from two large-scale experience sampling studies conducted in 2021 and 2023, involving more than 350 working adults in the United States and yielding 26,324 data points. Participants reported on their workplace conversations, including what they shared, why they shared it, how others responded and how they felt afterward.

The findings are clear: Sharing positive personal information at work was associated with increased emotional well-being, greater work energy, stronger feelings of connection and lower levels of rumination (dwelling on negative thoughts).

Importantly, why people shared mattered.

"Sharing to connect was consistently linked to better outcomes," Trinh said. "But sharing to vent, despite the common belief that venting is cathartic, actually predicted worse outcomes, including increased rumination and lower well-being."

The study also found that listener responses played a pivotal role. When the response matched the sharer's motivation (for example, offering emotional support in response to an emotional disclosure) employees experienced boosts in mood and connection. But mismatched responses, especially when listeners were less supportive than expected, were associated with decreased well-being and increased rumination.

"These mismatches happened about half the time," said co-lead author Kathryn Schertz, a postdoctoral research fellow in psychology.

Another key insight: Sharing with co-workers, as opposed to friends or family, was especially effective at boosting work-related energy and connection.

These conversations happened more frequently during in-office workdays, highlighting the social value of physical presence in the workplace. Meaningful interpersonal exchanges at work don't just help people feel connected; they also help them perform.