1960: The Benefits and Harms of Workplace Gossip: Considering its Valence, Content, and Target (13325)

Organizer(s)

• QZ

  Qinglin Zhao

  Texas A&M U., United States

Participant(s)

• SL

  Stephen Lee

  Washington State U., United States
• YD

  Yingxin Deng

  School of Management, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

Presenter(s)

• QZ

  Qinglin Zhao

  Texas A&M U., United States

Participant(s)

• HL

  Huiwen Lian

  Texas A&M U., United States
• SJ

  Samantha Jordan

  U. of North Texas, United States
• YD

  Yufan Deng

  Southwestern U. of Finance and Economics, China
• WH

  Wayne Hochwarter

  Florida State U., United States

Presenter(s)

• SL

  Stephen Lee

  Washington State U., United States

Organizer(s)

• HL

  Huiwen Lian

  Texas A&M U., United States
• JL

  Jie Li

  Wilfrid Laurier U., Canada

Discussant(s)

• CB

  Christopher Barnes

  U. of Washington, United States

Presenter(s)

• SG

  Seval Gündemir

  Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus U., Netherlands

Participant(s)

• MS

  Michael Slepian

  Columbia Business School, United States
• FR

  Floor Rink

  U. of Groningen, Netherlands
• BB

  Bianca Beersma

  Vrije U. Amsterdam, Netherlands

Presenter(s)

• RZ

  Rui Zhong

  Penn State Smeal College of Business, United States

Workplace gossip, defined as the evaluative talk initiated by one employee (gossiper) to another (recipient) about an absent colleague, is widespread. Research indicates that over 90% of employees engage in gossip. Despite recent advancements in research on workplace gossip, two key challenges persist, hindering a comprehensive understanding of its harms and benefits. First, recent work tends to focus on the impacts on gossipers, with less known on how and why gossip may affect other stakeholders including gossip targets, gossip recipients, work groups, or the organization. Second, while there is an acknowledgment of the importance of differentiating gossip based on valence (positive vs. negative gossip), content (work vs. non-work-related gossip), and target (gossip about the supervisor vs. coworkers), it remains a theoretical and empirical challenge to encompass all these dimensions in a single study. This symposium aims to address these two critical issues by presenting four papers that contribute to a more holistic understanding of the harms and benefits of workplace gossip. These papers not only expand our insights into the consequences for gossipers but also delve into the impact on gossip recipients, work groups, and the organization. Moreover, the four papers employ novel theoretical perspectives and empirical methods to allow the simultaneous examination of multiple dimensions of gossip and their integrative impacts.

Presentations:

• 09:45 – 11:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1960: Negative Gossip Undermines Organizational Diversity Efforts (13325)
  

  Author: Seval Gündemir – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus U.

  Author: Michael Slepian – Columbia Business School

  Author: Floor Rink – U. of Groningen

  Author: Bianca Beersma – Vrije U. Amsterdam
• 09:45 – 11:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1960: Caught in the Web of Whispers: Emotional and Interpersonal Implications of Receiving Gossip (13325)
  

  Author: Rui Zhong – Penn State Smeal College of Business

  Author: Stephen Lee – Washington State U.

  Author: Yingxin Deng – School of Management, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing
• 09:45 – 11:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1960: A Person-Centered View of Workplace Gossip (13325)
  

  Author: Qinglin Zhao – Texas A&M U.

  Author: Huiwen Lian – Texas A&M U.

  Author: Samantha Jordan – U. of North Texas

  Author: Yufan Deng – Southwestern U. of Finance and Economics

  Author: Wayne Hochwarter – Florida State U.
• 09:45 – 11:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1960: Division and Solidarity: A Faultline Perspective of Workplace Gossip (13325)
  

  Author: Stephen Lee – Washington State U.