DH found early on in lockdown that people were bored, isolated and a bit lonely and were more chatty on calls, then in the summer that tapered off. There is a bit more people can do at present, but there is still little fresh input for conversation. Colleagues haven't physically seen each other for at least 6 months, more where it's colleagues in offices across the country, but people would normally connect up across the team intermittently.
I noticed this too, especially with the phone calls. People from other organisations were ringing for work purposes, explaining they were WFH, & then chatting away about all sorts. I swear it was the loneliness.
That's stopped a bit. Staff from my team pop in to the office to collect things & I make a point of chatting to them, because suppporting staff is part of my role. I'm aware of who lives alone, who has only just ventured out after shielding, who has been struggling, & who generally needs company. Usually we'd stop for a break in a bigger group & all catch up & have some light relief. Or if we were too busy for a break it didn't matter because there were enough people working in the same room to carry everyone along.
Nowadays lunch is taken at home & in cars, often alone. We don't laugh as much. We all say things like, "We miss the office."
If too many people pop in at the same time there is now the stress of some of them having to wait outside due to numbers. And now we have to wear masks too.