Abstract
Gossiping, defined as informally exchanging negative information with a colleague about an absent third person, is a pervasive phenomenon. By some accounts, at least 90% of employees engage in workplace gossiping (Grosser, Lopez-Kidwell, Labianca, & Ellwardt, 2012). This may be surprising given that gossiping is viewed as a counterproductive behavior within organizational research, and as something to be stamped out by many practitioners. However, this negative viewpoint of gossiping is incomplete and overly simplistic. The purpose of this study is to investigate how changes in gossiping relate to changes in perceptions of social exchange relationships, affective states, and ultimately, helping behavior among coworkers. First, a measure of gossiping extent is developed and validated. Next, an inductive approach is used to develop and validate a measure of gossip quality. Finally, controlling for gossiping extent, an integrative model of gossiping is used to examine the impact of gossip quality on proposed mediators and outcomes. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of full-time coworker dyads in a field study using an experience sampling methodology.
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