Defining small talk as "superficial talk about matters of little concern," a study examined the role of small talk in the work place. Subjects, 51 white collar workers and clerical employees at three corporations, an Eastern state university, and two small businesses completed a questionnaire concerning the following questions: (1) What are employees' feelings about small talk in general? (2) Is there a correlation between small talk with one's boss and trust in him or her? (3) Does small talk in the organization correlate with openness? and (4) What topics do people cover during small talk with boss and coworkers? Results indicated that respondents did not have negative opinions about small talk and small talk users. In fact, they considered small talk useful and a way of getting to know people. On the other hand, respondents did not wish their bosses to know more about their personal lives and seemed to prefer small talk with coworkers more than with their bosses. Findings also indicated that employees had a negative opinion about some aspects of small talk with their employers, but that they did appear to appreciate the ability to initiate small talk with the boss. Employees seemed to prefer controlling their relationships with their employers by maintaining its nonpersonal nature in such ways as selecting of nonpersonal topics during small talk rather than discussing their personal lives as they did with coworkers. (Six tables of data and references are included.) (NKA)