With respect to the content of communication in organizations, although one can
conceptually distinguish between content-related communication about work (i.e., workrelated
communication) and content-related communication about ‘personal’ issues (i.e.,
person-related communication), in everyday interactions these types of content-related
communication are often inextricably intertwined (Jackson, Stone, & Alvarez, 1993).
There is a substantial body of evidence to support the idea that effective work-related
communication has positive consequences (Jablin & Putnam, 2001).