Managing Impressions at Work: When Communication Shapes Credit, Trust, and Recognition

Abstract: This symposium examines how everyday workplace communication shapes how people are evaluated and treated at work. Communication does more than transmit information. It signals intentions, influences how responsibility is assigned, and affects whether contributions are noticed and valued. As work increasingly takes place through remote, public, and mediated channels, understanding the social consequences of communication has become especially important.

Across five papers, the symposium shows that small differences in when and how people communicate can alter recognition, trust, and working relationships. The research demonstrates that communication can fail to produce its intended benefits, even when contributions are visible, explanations are offered, commitments are made, or praise is exchanged. These effects arise not from poor intentions, but from how messages are interpreted within their social context.

Rather than focusing on formal communication strategies or overt conflict, the symposium highlights how ordinary interaction shapes evaluation over time. By bringing together work on interpersonal behavior, conflict, and sensemaking, the session advances understanding of when communication supports coordination and when it quietly undermines it in contemporary organizations.

Keywords: Workplace communication; social evaluation; recognition; interpersonal relationships; impression management