Workplace gossip has a reputation problem. Most view gossip at work as disruptive, unproductive, or even toxic to company culture. But informal communication through social networks may serve an important organisational purpose. Leaders need to understand that workplace gossip can be beneficial or harmful, depending on how it’s used and managed.
On episode 141 of The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp spoke with Allison Howell, MS, CEO at Hogan Assessments, about the pros and cons of workplace gossip.
Keep reading for insights about the types of gossip at work, the relationship between personality and gossiping, and leadership strategies related to workplace gossip.
Why Employees Gossip at Work
“Gossip serves as an informal communication channel, oftentimes working its way through social networks,” Allison said. Although we tend to assume that gossip means spreading rumours or misinformation, that’s not necessarily the case. “Gossip is about leveraging unofficial ways to share information,” she explained.
Workplace gossip serves an important purpose: to help people make sense of what is happening around them. Because it tends to regard people and relationships, gossip offers contextual clues for understanding organisational culture and politics.
Think about the onboarding process. After the official steps of paperwork and introductions, you socialise with your team in a more informal setting—and that’s when you get the real information. What are some tips for working with this boss? Who gets along and who doesn’t? What’s the department’s reputation? Compared with what the company provides in the new hire packet, this unofficial, word-of-mouth information can be deeply valuable to someone navigating new team dynamics.
Common Myths About Gossip
Despite these benefits, several common myths about workplace gossip persist. First, gossip is sometimes incorrect because information can change easily when transmitted (such as in the telephone game children play). Plus, gossip is a core tactic in smear campaigns. But beyond the assumption that gossip is always false, it tends to be viewed as immoral and gendered.
In a historical context, gossip serves an important role in the politics of social control. “Gossip is often framed by people in power as morally suspect,” Allison said. “It’s a type of back-channel communication that people in power might want to prevent from happening, label as negative, and try to dismiss.” Workplace gossip challenges traditional power dynamics because it’s unapproved and contrary to information shared via official channels.
The stereotype about gender and gossip is also a myth. Gossip has long been caricatured as women’s idle talk, but this dismissive view ignores its protective function. Historically, women used gossip as a survival mechanism to share information about risks and dangers that were not safe to address openly. For instance, gossip during witch hunts allowed people who were primarily women to communicate outside of societal power structures. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that people have been killed over gossip,” Allison said.
The Pros of Workplace Gossip
These myths obscure gossip’s real value in the workplace. Trust determines gossip’s effectiveness and credibility. “The world is full of misinformation. Between AI and politics and distrust in mainstream media, it’s hard to know what is happening,” Allison said. Advertising, brand messaging, and influencer marketing also affect consumer credulity. We are sceptical about the accuracy of the messages we encounter. We question the intentions of anyone trying to sell us products, services, or ideas. Under these circumstances, we look to trusted people in our social network for authentic interactions or reliable information.
Workplace gossip reveals trusted sources of information. Allison related a story about graduate research she conducted while studying mass communications in northern Wisconsin. The state department of natural resources wanted to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species by persuading boaters to clean their boats and dispose of bait safely. But there was a widespread sentiment of mistrust toward that governmental department. In contrast, boaters valued the opinions of local bait shop owners. “They were trusted people within their communities. ‘Hey, let’s protect our lakes,’ was a much less concerning message coming from them,” she said. “Trusted parties are really, really effective in sharing information in a world where you might not be able to trust institutions.”
Gossip at work can also convey authority and status, such as the idea of belonging to an inner circle. It can build bonds between people who share an opinion or a secret. And it can accelerate relationship-building when someone is a source of useful or valuable knowledge.
The Personality Characteristics of Gossipers
“Gossip is going to happen, full stop,” Allison said. Why people gossip at work can reveal just as much about their personality as how they go about it. According to socioanalytic theory, people’s behaviour is driven by three universal motives: competition, or getting ahead; cooperation, or getting along; and stability, or finding purpose. Each of these motivations can drive gossip with either constructive or destructive effects.
Everyone engages in social interaction at work, which means that, at some point, everyone engages in gossip. Just as our personality characteristics affect our reasons for gossiping, personality can also predict the style of our gossiping behaviour. For instance, an extraverted person might want to share information to build relationships. Someone dramatic or ambitious could gossip to get attention. An empathetic person could engage in gossip at work to protect themselves or their team members. Or gossip could be used to achieve the opposite: breaking trust, pursuing status, and harming reputation.
How Leaders Should Handle Workplace Gossip
Given gossip’s inevitability, leaders should monitor constructive versus destructive gossip in their organisations. Generally, this involves implementing several listening mechanisms, making inferences, paying attention to context, and building relationships with peers and followers. Leaders who want to leverage the constructive power of gossip must invest in trust and invite feedback. They must also listen, be open-minded, and react appropriately (not punitively).
Gossip provides leaders with insight into organisational health. Organic conversation through social channels is a normal result of employee engagement. When rampant gossip damages engagement or mental health, that’s a sign to reevaluate the flow of information through an organisation. Internal communication processes are working when employees don’t need to gossip to get the information they think is important. So, unless gossip is clearly destroying morale, Allison advises staying aware of gossip and not trying to control it.
Leaders who have tried to stop the flow of informal communication know that this approach will backfire. “Encouraging open sharing is good,” Allison said. “Create a space where people have the psychological safety and mechanisms for providing feedback directly to their manager, to HR, or someplace where they can talk.”
*This article originally appeared on Hogan Assessments.
