Hearing it through the grapevine: Positive and negative workplace gossip

Workplace gossip is very common, and all managers are likely to encounter it during the course of their careers. Unfortunately, many managers often take actions to quell gossip that prove to be ineffective, because these efforts are aimed at addressing gossip's symptoms rather than its root cau...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organizational dynamics 2012-01, Vol.41 (1), p.52-61
Main Authors: Grosser, Travis J, Lopez-Kidwell, Virginie, Labianca, Giuseppe (Joe), Ellwardt, Lea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Corporate culture
Europe
Gossip
Hearing
Managerial skills
Symptoms
Workplaces
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Workplace gossip is very common, and all managers are likely to encounter it during the course of their careers. Unfortunately, many managers often take actions to quell gossip that prove to be ineffective, because these efforts are aimed at addressing gossip's symptoms rather than its root causes. We argue that a more effective strategy for dealing with problematic organizational gossip is to address these root causes more directly. Armed with a deeper understanding of why gossip occurs, executives will be better prepared to manage it. We draw upon our research on organizational, gossip in the United States and Europe, and on existing case studies, to provide a framework for understanding why gossip happens in organizations. We describe six of the primary functions that gossip serves in organizations. We then suggest four concrete actions that managers can take to manage negative gossip without squelching positive gossip. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0090-2616
1873-3530
DOI:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2011.12.007