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Passing the Word: Toward a Model of Gossip and Power in the Workplace
Abstract
Gossip
... The intent behind gossip is a critical dimension that influences its impact. Gossip can be malicious, aimed at undermining someone's reputation, or benign, serving as a means of social interaction or even helping others by sharing useful information (Kurland & Pelled, 2000, Grosser et al. 2012. The positive form of prosocial gossip is used to warn others about untrustworthy individuals, thereby protecting the group (Feinberg, Willer, & Schultz, 2014). ...
Workplace gossip, an often overlooked yet pervasive social phenomenon, has profound implications for organizational dynamics and employee well-being. This article conceptualizes workplace gossip, explores its dimensions, and examines both its implications and potential gains within organizational settings. The paper also elevated the discussion on workplace gossip to include its digital perspective by drawing on existing literature. As a way of deepening the intellectual contents of the paper, six baseline social theories were reviewed, including Social Exchange Theory (SET), Social Identity Theory (SIT), Social Comparison Theory (SCT), Social Learning Theory (SLT), Social Network Theory (SNT), and Impression Management Theory (IMT). The paper concluded that workplace gossip is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon with both negative and positive implications for organizations; and recommended among others that organisations should establish clear communication channels, promote a positive workplace culture, and train employees on the effects of workplace gossip.
... The experience of being ignored or excluded by colleagues [3][4][5] Abusive Supervision Supervisory behavior that is hostile either verbally or non-verbally [26,27] Voice Behavior The discretionary communication of ideas, suggestions, concerns, or opinions about work-related issues [28,29] Supervisor Support The extent to which supervisors value their subordinates' contributions and care about their well-being [30,31] Workplace Bullying Repeated, persistent, and harmful actions intended to humiliate, offend, or degrade an individual or group [32,33] Social Undermining Behaviors intended to hinder, over time, the ability to establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships, work-related success, and favorable reputation [34,35] Workplace Incivility Low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect [36,37] Negative Workplace Gossip Informal communications among employees concerning colleagues that are not present, which could harm the subject's reputation [38][39][40] Interpersonal Deviance Behaviors that harm individuals or their property in the workplace [13,41] Interpersonal Distrust The lack of trust or confidence in one's colleagues or superiors [42,43] Organizational Politics Self-serving and manipulative behaviors of individuals and groups to promote their self-interests at the expense of others, and sometimes against the interest or well-being of the organization [44,45] Workplace Loneliness A subjective, distressing feeling of isolation or lack of companionship in the workplace [46,47] Job Tension The amount of stress or discomfort an employee perceives in their job [48,49] Job Insecurity The subjective anticipation of a fundamental and undesired change in the job situation [50,51] (continued) Turnover Intention An employee's intent to leave the organization [52,53] Employee Performance The job-related activities expected of a worker and how well these activities were executed [54,55] Knowledge Sharing Behavior The act of exchanging job-relevant information, ideas, suggestions, and expertise with others in the organization [56,57] Interpersonal Conflict The process that occurs when one person, group, or organizational subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another [58,59] ...
... Dores systematically reviewed 6114 scientific articles on gossip and identified 324 articles that included a definition of gossip. Their review showed that in the gossip literature, vastly different definitions of gossip have been used (as an example, compare Bosson, Johnson, Niederhoffer & Swan's (2006) definition of gossip as: 'an exchange of personal information about absent third parties that can be either evaluatively positive or negative' to Kurland and Pelled's (2000) definition of gossip as: 'information about intense third-party social relationships'). Moreover, many articles on gossip did not define the construct at all. ...
In their essay ‘Confidential gossip and organization studies’, Fan, Grey, and Kärreman (2021) argue that confidential gossip is a distinctive sub-category of gossip that has particular implications for the communicative constitution of organizations and that they provide a methodological platform for studying confidential gossip. We view these claims, written from a phenomenological/constructivist perspective, from a postpositivist perspective, and propose some amendments and nuance, with the goal of furthering understanding of confidential gossip. Fan et al’s adoption of context-specific and mutable meanings for participants may be adequate for the purposes of their broadly phenomenological analysis, but needs amending if it is to enable the formulation of clear theoretical propositions and testable predictions regarding the effects of confidential gossip in organizations, which from our perspective is essential. We make three suggestions. First, a clear definition of gossip is needed. Second, we emphasize the importance of clear predictions on how confidentiality shapes gossip processes and outcomes by distinguishing (1) sender motives for confidentiality, (2) receiver perceptions of confidentiality, and (3) whether gossip is kept confidential from just the gossip target or also from other parties. Systematically testing such predictions could then lend support for the conclusion that confidential gossip is a distinctive sub-category of gossip that impacts organizations in different ways than non-confidential gossip does. Third, we argue that Fan et al.’s methodological perspective overlooks recent developments in the gossip literature, and that rather than focusing on participant observation as Fan et al. advocate, employing a broader range of research methods is needed to understand confidential gossip and its impact on organizations.
This chapter deals with the formal and informal levels of communication in organizations. The formal level is influenced by the prevailing hierarchical structures as well as by the habits of the organization’s industrial sector. The anchoring of communication in organizational theory is discussed and placed in the context of organizational change management. The mechanism of action of formal communication in the age of social media in change projects is concretized. Many channels offer a platform for both formal and informal messages, whereby the controllability of content and targeted addressing are fraught with risk. An analysis of the informal level provides insight into how knowledge and information can be exchanged without official guidelines from the communications department. A brief excursion into the intuitive level expands the further conceptual orientation on the topic of communication.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, öğretmenlerin örgütsel dedikodu düzeylerine ilişkin görüşlerini tespit etmektir. Araştırma nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden olgubilimi deseninde yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 2023-2024 eğitim öğretim yılında Ordu ili Altınordu ilçesinde görev yapan 20 öğretmen oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunun oluşturulmasında amaçlı örneklem tekniği kullanılmıştır. Veriler yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ile toplanmıştır. Verileri analiz etmek için betimsel analiz tekniğinden yararlanılmıştır. Araştırmada, örgütsel dedikodunun gerçek veya gerçek dışı yorum yapma ve kişinin arkasından konuşma olduğu aynı zamanda olumlu ve olumsuz bir eleştiri ve hızlı yayılan bir iletişim şekli olduğuna ilişkin bulgulara ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca öğretmenlerin okulda dedikoduya maruz kaldıklarında genellikle yüzleşme, açıklama yapma, ciddiye almama, görmezden gelme ve iletişimi kesme gibi tepkiler gösterdiği anlaşılmıştır. Okulda yapılan dedikodunun nedenleri arasında idareci tutumları, çalışanlar arası iletişimsizlik, kıskançlık, merak, bilgi eksikliği, gruplaşma ve can sıkıntısının etkili olduğu ifade edilmiştir Dedikodunun çalışanlar arası ilişkilerin bozulması, verim ve motivasyon düşüklüğü, psikolojik baskı, iletişim sorunları, kendini değersiz hissetme, stres, mesleki yetersizlik, dışlanmışlık gibi olumsuz sonuçları olduğu anlaşılmıştır.
Purpose
Drawing upon the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to examine whether ego depletion mediates the relationship between negative workplace gossip and employees’ service sabotage behavior and whether psychological resilience moderates the relationship between negative workplace gossip and service sabotage behavior through the mediator of ego depletion among hotel frontline employees and their colleagues.
Design/methodology/approach
A paired sample was collected at three-time points from employees and their colleagues working in hotels in Guizhou province, China. The PROCESS macro for SPSS was applied to examine the moderated mediation model.
Findings
The results showed that negative workplace gossip has a positive effect on employee service sabotage behavior, and that ego depletion mediates the relationship between negative workplace gossip and employee service sabotage behavior. Psychological resilience weakens the relationship between negative workplace gossip and ego depletion, as well as the indirect effect of negative workplace gossip on employee service sabotage behavior through ego depletion.
Originality/value
The present research provides a thorough understanding of when and how negative workplace gossip influences employee service sabotage behavior in the hospitality industry. The findings of this moderated mediation relationship expanded the boundary conditions of negative workplace gossip and employee service sabotage behavior.
This article empirically assesses the relationship between power and the sources of power in a channel of distribution that has a well-defined power source: the franchisor-franchisee channel. In addition, the consequences of franchisors utilizing coercive versus noncoercive sources of power are examined.
