People who like a good gossip at work are perceived as more sociable but less competent, a study has found.
They are more likely to be trusted to help organise social events but less likely to be asked their advice about ethical matters.
The study’s co-author Nahid Ibrahim, from the University of Leeds business school, said there were several reasons why people gossip and it’s something our ancient ancestors would have done too.
“Gossip is a valuable form of information exchange,” she said. “It often helps people navigate the workplace by offering information typically unavailable through formal channels. For example, as a newcomer, you probably would like to know what working with your other colleagues is like, who gets along with whom and who to avoid.
“Gossip also helps people understand the organisational culture and helps people build relationships. Indeed, this is rooted in evolutionary reasons for gossiping. In early human communities, gossip helped people judge others’ actions and reputations, ensure everyone followed the rules, and build connections among group members. Therefore, gossiping can be seen as a hallmark of a well connected individual with an extensive social network.
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“However, gossiping is also seen as a form of moral transgression as gossipers often share private and sensitive information about others, with or without an explicit intention to harm their reputation. Moreover, gossiping comes with certain labels such as ‘idle talk’, ‘chit chat’, etc, suggesting that gossiping at the workplace can be considered a waste of time — the time that could be otherwise devoted to pursuing more meaningful and productive activities.
“Hence, although gossipers are seen as more sociable than someone who does not gossip, they are also seen as less moral and competent.”
For the study, the researchers presented 1,400 participants with hypothetical workplace scenarios about their colleague “Alex” over five different experiments. A gender-neutral name was used by the researchers to avoid prejudice.
In each experiment half were told that Alex enjoyed chit-chatting and that “whether it was everyday happenings in the company or their co-workers’ personal lives, good or bad, Alex talked about all of them”. The other half were told that Alex did not like to engage in chit-chat about others and did not talk much about daily occurrences within the company or the personal lives of their colleagues.
In one of the experiments the participants were asked to judge Alex on various aspects of their personality. Those told about gossiper Alex rated them as more sociable but less moral and competent.
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In another experiment participants were told they needed to tackle an ethical matter at their company — specifically how to handle employees who had received gifts from clients exceeding the allowed value — and whether they would go to Alex for advice.
Those presented with the image of Alex as a chit-chatter were less likely to go to to them for advice. In another experiment, people who were told they needed to organise a welcome lunch for new employees at their company, where the aim was to create a “warm and welcoming environment where these newcomers could establish connections with their colleagues and feel a strong sense of belonging” were more likely to ask gossip Alex for help than non-gossip Alex.
• Why it’s now hard work to get the best office gossip
Workplace gossip can be good and bad, according to Ibrahim. “Organisations are very similar to social communities, and gossip plays a critical role in ensuring their effective functioning,” she said. “It fosters relationships among its members, paving the way for effective collaboration. Gossip is often helpful in uncovering workplace issues that might not be reported through formal channels and can help increase employee morale.”
“However, gossip also has the potential to cause harm to individuals, groups and organisations as a whole. It can damage individuals’ reputations and create misunderstandings among members, disrupting teamwork and cooperation. The targets of gossip can often experience lower morale and higher dissatisfaction, which can lead to formal complaints and grievances.”
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The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
