There is a popular assumption that gossip or ‘the grapevine' is a negative thing, detrimental to effective work and something to be discouraged – or even outlawed. It is not that simple, yet managers and HR practitioners are frequently confronted with literature and training materials which reinforce this negative assumption. This article offers a fresh perspective and alternative view.
Of course some workplace gossip is unkind and malicious, and this is can be deeply dysfunctional and harmful to individuals, teams and businesses. However, as with the ‘shadowside’[1] realities that often disrupt can also sometimes benefit the business.
The benefits of gossip
These are based on findings from in-depth research with managers and practitioners working in the NHS and the private sector. For individuals the benefits include:
- expressing and communicating emotion;
- gaining support and reassurance from others;
- reducing uncertainty and anxiety;
- problem solving and sensemaking;
- inclusion and acceptance by others.
Organisational benefits include:
- expression of care and concern about people or the organisation;
- sharing of information and knowledge;
- development of inter and intra organisational networks;
- establishment of work/team relationships;
- dissemination of organisational culture and values.
The individual and organisational outcomes of gossip may therefore be simultaneously harmful and beneficial, unintended and intended, trivial and important. This leads to a number of questions for managers, practitioners and researchers. For example, how should the positive consequences and benefits of gossip be managed? What potentially beneficial role does gossip play in disrupting the status quo and challenging social and organisational norms? What are the ethical implications of not acting upon the ‘soft information’ - i.e. spoken word, instinct or gut feeling - diffused and spread in gossip?
A number of practical conclusions can be drawn:
- accept that gossip and informal channels of communication exist in organisations;
- acknowledge that these channels cannot be formally managed or controlled, but can have beneficial features;
- recognise that informal communication is not a substitute for formal communication, neither is it totally separate or unrelated;
- reflect upon the information communicated as gossip and consider the possible ethical benefits and harms;
- seek other sources of verification of ‘soft information’ – for example in formal data, statistics and reports; and
- consider what the emotions expressed through gossip might represent in terms of underlying organisational issues.
The ‘bright side’ of gossip
One research participant used a metaphor to suggest that gossip brightens up their day:
I think gossip comes along as a kind of ‘break in the clouds’
Metaphor, which is about describing one thing in terms of another, is a powerful way of ‘getting underneath’ things. We can now think metaphorically about what this means in terms of the ‘light’ that gossip can shine on some of the ‘shadowside’ aspects of organisations and their cultures.
The ‘shadowside’ of organisational culture encompasses the issues which are not identified, discussed or managed in formal decision-making forums; it deals with the covert, the undiscussed, the undiscussable, and the unmentionable. Careful attention to the content and processes of gossip can illuminate that which is hidden. Not only does gossip act as a ‘break in the clouds’ to reveal what lies beneath organisational cultures, values and practices it can also ‘break the silence’[2] around that which may be unknown to the formal organisation.
Breaking the silence
The following questions are intended to help you to access, understand and reflect further upon organisational cultural patterns and contexts:
- What behaviours are rewarded by the organisation and what typical patterns of behaviour do you notice at meetings?
- What stories and gossip are circulating in the ‘unmanaged spaces’? For example, tales of the unexpected? Heroes, villains and fools?
- What metaphors (see above) are used to describe the culture? For example, this place is like…?
- What/who would be included in the ‘unofficial induction programme’?
- What are the ‘organisational secrets’? The things that most people know, but which cannot be talked about openly? Why are these issues not confronted?
This next set of questions can also be used as a team exercise:
- What needs to be safeguarded, nurtured and preserved?
- What ‘excess baggage’ is slowing down change?
- What no longer fits and can be discarded?
- What needs to be incorporated, acquired or done differently?
Looking to the future
Does gossip have a bright future? As a researcher I would say yes, studies in this area are undergoing a healthy growth spurt and contributing to knowledge about emotion work, sensemaking, power and organisational culture. As a practitioner working in the public sector I would say possibly not, as the time and spaces for workplace gossip (such a waiting to use a photocopier or for a kettle to boil) disappear in the quest for increased productivity. Decisions and policies to banish gossip simply generate more gossip and drive it deeper underground, adversely effect staff morale and well-being, and the organisational and business benefits suffer.
Excessive, negative and harmful gossip is damaging and must be dealt with. However it is also detrimental to focus only on the negative, and we must not overlook the benefits and bright side of gossip.
[1] See ‘The Shadowside’ by Nick Cotter and Jo Potter in The People Bulletin, 10 September 2009,
[2] Van Iterson, A., Waddington, K. and Michelson, G. (2011) ‘Breaking the Silence: The Role of Gossip in Organizational Culture’ in N. M. Ashkanasy, Wilderom, C. P. M. and Peterson, M. F. (eds) The Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate (2nd Ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.