water-cooler effect

Noun

water cooler effect (plural water cooler effects)

1. The tendency of employees to gather informally around a water cooler in order to socialize and to share information.
   • The water cooler effect represents a belief that conversations that develop in and around a water fountain, or in a cafeteria, significantly enable knowledge transfer, which indirectly contributes to positive work relationships [10].2007, Geilson Loureiro, Richard Curran, Complex Systems Concurrent Engineering, page 719