Small talk has a branding problem, but new research suggests the people avoiding it most are also the ones starting to use it on purpose. A global survey of 1,400 adults across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia conducted by Preply found that 58% of Gen Z engage in small talk daily, compared with just 31% of Baby Boomers. That is a wide generational gap, and it gets more interesting once you look at behavior instead of just attitude.
Despite talking casually more often, 93% of Gen Z admit to using specific tactics to dodge small talk when they want to, like checking their phone, choosing self-checkout over a cashier, or texting instead of calling. 65% of Gen Z also say they talk more often now than they did five years ago, which suggests the norms around conversation itself are shifting, not just who is willing to have one.
The cost of avoidance is already showing up at work. 82% of Gen Z say skipping casual conversation has caused a real workplace problem, whether that is a missed connection with a colleague, a manager who barely knows them, or a project opportunity that went to someone more visible. Zoom out across every generation and 65% say they have missed a friendship or an opportunity because they opted out of a conversation they could have had. 87% avoided at least one live conversation entirely in the past year.
What makes this generation different is that a growing share of them already see the fix. 23% of Gen Z say they intentionally use small talk to build visibility with leadership, more than any other generation, followed by 21% of Millennials, 16% of Gen X, and 10% of Boomers. That is a meaningful signal. The generation most associated with screen time and conversation avoidance is also the generation most likely to treat a hallway chat as a career move rather than an obligation.
Nearly four in ten Gen Z workers, 39%, say they would sign up for training on workplace communication if their employer offered it. That is not a generation that dislikes connection. It is a generation that grew up mediated by screens and is now consciously relearning a skill older workers picked up by default, simply from more years spent in physical offices.
For managers, the takeaway is not to lecture younger employees about eye contact or phone habits. It is to build small, low-pressure moments into the actual workday, with a few minutes before a meeting starts, a walk to get coffee together, a door left open instead of closed, where that skill can be practiced without the pressure of a formal setting or a performance review attached to it. The employees who master this early are the ones already treating small talk as a leadership tool rather than a chore.
Read the full Preply study research findings here: https://preply.com/en/blog/global-small-talk-survey-2026/
