Negative Gossip Decreases Targets’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior by Decreasing Social Inclusion. A Multi-Method Approach

Martinescu, Elena; Jansen, Wiebren; Beersma, Bianca

doi:10.1177/1059601120986876

Cited by 36 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(152 reference statements)

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“…AET posits that affective events impact a wide variety of individual outcomes, including well-being (e.g., Cropanzano & Dasborough, 2015), job attitudes and work-related affect (e.g., Carlson et al, 2011; Hur et al, 2015; Mitchell, 2011; Wegge et al, 2006), and engagement and performance (e.g., Bledow et al, 2011; Carlson et al, 2011; Xanthopoulou et al, 2008). Correspondingly, the extant literature on workplace gossip has also suggested that gossip is associated with well-being (e.g., Babalola et al, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2018; Martin & Hine, 2005; Wu et al, 2018), job attitudes and work-related affect (e.g., Ellwardt et al, 2012a; Martin & Hine, 2005; Martinescu et al, 2021), and engagement and performance (Bai et al, 2019; Bonner, 2016; Brady et al, 2017; Dlamani et al, 2018; Guo et al, 2021; Kong, 2018; Locklear et al, 2020; Tan et al, 2020; Wu et al, 2016, 2018; Ye et al, 2019; Zhou et al, 2020).…”

Section: Integrative Theoretical Model Of the Outcomes Of Workplace G...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spilling tea at the water cooler: A meta-analysis of the literature on workplace gossip

Hopmeyer

Rodriguez

Asencio

2022

Organizational Psychology Review

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This paper presents a meta-analysis on workplace gossip as a predictor of individual, relational, and organizational outcomes. Our systematic review yielded 52 independent studies ( n = 14,143). Results suggested that negative workplace gossip has a more deleterious association with workplace outcomes than positive gossip. Furthermore, findings indicated that negative gossip has a disproportionately negative association with attitudinal/affective outcomes and coworker relationships for targets of gossip. Unexpectedly, results also suggested that senders and recipients of negative gossip may also experience highly deleterious outcomes; in fact, the relations between negative gossip and well-being, engagement/performance, supervisor relationships, and organizational outcomes were more negative for gossip participants than targets, although the direction of causality for these relations has yet to be conclusively determined. Overall, our results suggest that organizations and managers should take seriously the threat of negative gossip to the health of the organization at large, while simultaneously leveraging the potential benefits of positive gossip. This paper presents a meta-analysis on the topic of workplace gossip as a predictor of work-relevant outcomes. Results—which were based on 52 independent studies that, in total, employed 14,143 independent research participants—suggested that negative workplace gossip has a worse impact on individual, relational, and organizational outcomes than positive gossip does. Furthermore, our findings indicated that targets of negative gossip experience the worst outcomes in terms of attitudes/affect and coworker relationships, when compared with the outcomes of individuals who exchanged the gossip. Unexpectedly, patterns of results also suggested that individuals who exchange negative gossip at work may also experience highly deleterious outcomes, although the direction of causality for these relations has yet to be conclusively determined. Overall, our results suggest that organizations and managers should take seriously the threat of negative gossip to the health of the organization at large, and may also be able to leverage the potentially beneficial effects of positive gossip. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results.

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Section: Integrative Theoretical Model Of the Outcomes Of Workplace G...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spilling tea at the water cooler: A meta-analysis of the literature on workplace gossip

Hopmeyer

Rodriguez

Asencio

2022

Organizational Psychology Review

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“…One reason for this attention lies in the acknowledgment that gossip is a behavior that can have both “bright” and “dark” effects on a firm’s dynamics ( Brady et al, 2017 ; Dores Cruz et al, 2019b ). On the one hand, gossip can wreck the image of some individuals, affecting their performance, commitment, or self-esteem ( Wu et al, 2018 ; Xie et al, 2019 ; Martinescu et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, gossip can sustain mechanisms fostering cooperation, mutual control, and self-organization ( Ellickson, 1991 ; Dunbar, 1998 ; Hardy and Van Vugt, 2006 ; Nowak, 2006 ; Barclay and Willer, 2007 ; Piazza and Bering, 2008 ; Beersma and Kleef, 2011 ; Feinberg et al, 2014 ; Wu et al, 2016 ; Boehm, 2019 ; Giardini and Wittek, 2019a ; Számadó et al, 2021 ; Giardini et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brokering or Sitting Between Two Chairs? A Group Perspective on Workplace Gossip

Estévez

Takács

2022

Front. Psychol.

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Brokerage is a central concept in the organization literature. It has been argued that individuals in broker positions—i.e., connecting otherwise disconnected parts within a firm’s social network—can control the flow of information. It would imply their increased relevance in workplace gossip. This allegation, however, has not been addressed empirically yet. To fill this gap, we apply social network analysis techniques to relational data from six organizations in Hungary. First, we identify informal groups and individuals in broker positions. Then, we use this information to predict the likelihood with which positive or negative gossip is reported. We find more gossip when the sender and receiver are part of the same group and more positive gossip about in-group rather than out-group targets. Individuals in broker positions are more likely the senders and targets of negative gossip. Finally, even if both the brokers and the boss(es) are the targets of their colleagues’ negative gossip, the combination of the two categories (bosses in broker positions) does not predict more negative gossip anymore. Results are discussed in relation to the theoretical accounts on brokerage that emphasize its power for information control but fail to recognize the pitfalls of being in such positions.

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“…Meanwhile, the relevance of workplace gossip to the functioning of organizations and their members has been amply documented (Beersma and Kleef 2012;Beersma, Kleef, and Dijkstra 2019;Michelson et al 2010;Mills 2010;Sun et al 2022). Despite its negative connotation and much research addressing its dysfunctional aspects (Danzinger 1988;Duffy et al 2002;Liu et al 2020;Martinescu et al 2021;Ribeiro and Blakeley 1995;Robinson and Bennett 1995), gossip also has multiple positive outcomes for individuals and groups (Brady et al 2017;Giardini and Wittek 2019a;Wilson 2005, 2010;Noon and Delbridge 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workplace gossip and the evolution of friendship relations: the role of complex contagion

Estévez

Wittek

Giardini

et al. 2022

Soc. Netw. Anal. Min.

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Gossip is a pervasive phenomenon in organizations causing many individuals to have second-hand information about their colleagues. However, whether it is used to inform friendship choices (i.e., friendship creation, friendship maintenance, friendship discontinuation) is not that evident. This paper articulates and empirically tests a complex contagion model to explain how gossip, through its reputational effects, can affect the evolution of friendship ties. We argue that hearing gossip from more than a single sender (and about several targets) impacts receivers’ friendships with the gossip targets. Hypotheses are tested in a two-wave sociometric panel study among 148 employees in a Dutch childcare organization. Stochastic actor-oriented models reveal positive gossip favors receiver-target friendships, whereas negative gossip inhibits them. We also find evidence supporting that, for damaging relationships, negative gossip needs to originate in more than a single sender. Positive gossip about a high number of targets discourages friendships with colleagues in general, while negative gossip about many targets produces diverging trends. Overall, the study demonstrates that second-hand information influences the evolution of expressive relations. It also underscores the need to refine and extend current theorizing concerning the multiple (and potentially competing) psychological mechanisms causing some of the observed effects.

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Negative Gossip Decreases Targets’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior by Decreasing Social Inclusion. A Multi-Method Approach

Cited by 36 publications

References 64 publications

Spilling tea at the water cooler: A meta-analysis of the literature on workplace gossip

Spilling tea at the water cooler: A meta-analysis of the literature on workplace gossip

Brokering or Sitting Between Two Chairs? A Group Perspective on Workplace Gossip

Workplace gossip and the evolution of friendship relations: the role of complex contagion

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