Gossip circulates in our offices and workplace lunchrooms, seemingly to fill our free time. But perhaps through these ubiquitous and interesting conversations, we influence workplace relationships more than we realize.
Is gossip the path to friendship or a surefire way to make enemies at work? It turns out that the answer depends on how the recipient of the gossip perceives the gossiper's intentions.
Workplace gossip (defined as informal, evaluative talk about absent co-workers) is widespread, but often misunderstood.
Traditionally frowned upon and even branded as unproductive or deviant, recent research has revealed a more complex picture of gossip.
Some studies suggest that gossip leads to friendships between coworkers, while others suggest that it damages workplace relationships. Our research shows that these seemingly contradictory findings stem from a misunderstanding of the nuances of how gossip shapes social relationships in the workplace.
We focused on the recipients of gossip, or listeners, and asked them how they perceived these interactions and how receiving gossip affected their relationships with co-workers.
Understanding workplace gossip
Researchers use three frameworks or concepts to understand workplace gossip.
The “exchange perspective” holds that gossip connects colleagues to each other through a type of quid pro quo. Colleagues may provide information in hopes of receiving social support or inside information in return.
Read more: The Science of Gossip: 4 Ways to Reduce Toxicity
The “reputation information perspective” focuses on how gossip shapes the recipient's view of the target, that is, the people about whom the gossip is directed. Sensitive information may be shared to warn others about toxic personalities or to show that someone is especially trustworthy.
Finally, “gossip valence” refers to whether gossip conveys positive or negative information about the target.
Effects of listening to gossip
Our research investigates how gossip affects recipients' perceptions of the person sharing the gossip.
Data were collected from participants using two methods: written incident reports and follow-up interviews. This approach allowed the researchers to provide a detailed account of how workplace gossip affected relationships from the perspective of the recipient.
Our findings indicate that recipients' perceptions of these exchanges are critical. In particular, their interpretation of the gossiper's intentions can cause a chain reaction.
Gossip has the potential to spark new friendships or rekindle old friendships if the receiver determines that the gossiper's intentions are genuine and genuine—that is, if it's a way to reveal one's true views about a coworker. there is.
For example, when someone says, “It really annoys me when Mark talks bad about me like that,'' the recipient is trusting the gossiper's true feelings about Mark, the offending coworker. It will be. This creates a stronger bond, especially if the recipient agrees with your opinion.
Interestingly, and perhaps a little worryingly, we found that negative gossip is a more powerful way to build friendships than positive gossip, as long as the intentions are interpreted as genuine. .
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When recipients rate their intentions as prosocial, that is, when they share accurate and valuable information that benefits people other than the gossiper, trust increases and coworker relationships are strengthened.
One study participant explained:
I realized that Source is actually the type of person who only has really positive things to say about people. […] I think that's why I started to trust him because he doesn't put others down too much.
If the gossiper's intentions are perceived as selfish, the recipient's trust in them decreases, and it is highly unlikely that the two of them will become friends.
One participant explained:
They said this to tarnish her reputation and cause trouble in the workplace.
Meanwhile, another said:
I felt very uncomfortable hearing him gossiping about another waitress. I was scared that if I made a mistake he would say something negative about me.
It's not just idle chatter
Our research supports the idea that gossip is not just idle chatter, but a valuable (and dangerous) social currency.
We often gossip without thinking about why we do it. However, our findings show that others pay a lot of attention to our gossip motives.
Given that we have little control over how our intentions are interpreted by others, this study is a timely reminder to think twice before sharing gossip.
