The ritual of coffee break inside organizations: toward social efficiency and/or performance?

Abstract

This research examines a non-formal ritual practice – the coffee break – inside organizations. Based on a survey conducted on 12 marketing and commercial teams in France, we analyse if the coffee break has an objective of social efficiency or of performance. While solving this question, our results also reveal the importance of seniority in the observed behaviors, suggesting that it symbolizes an informal level of authority in front of the formal authority symbolized by the status.

Keywords

• interaction rituals
• symbolic communication
• organization
• team work
• cofee break