The good and bad of gossip: A resource perspective

Abstract

Workplace gossip is a common occurrence in organizations, yet its study in the organizational behavior literature has been limited. In particular, little research has considered the effects of gossiping on the gossiper in terms of well-being and productivity. We examine two facets of workplace gossip – an individual’s tendency to gossip and the organizational gossip culture – on a gossiper’s resources and job performance. Drawing from Ego Depletion Theory, we position resource depletion as an important mechanism of the workplace gossip and job performance relationship. An experience sampling methodology was used to test our proposed model using a sample of 65 senior managers across 10 work days. Findings provide a nuanced depiction of gossip and its relationship with resource depletion by demonstrating different factors that affect whether gossip is beneficial or detrimental to a gossiper’s personal resources. Individual gossip tendency was positively related to resource depletion while organizational gossip culture was negatively related to resource depletion. Resource depletion mediated the relationships between individual gossip tendency, organizational gossip culture, and task productivity and task proficiency. Contributions to theory and practice are discussed.