Constructive Roles of Organizational Two-Way Symmetrical Communication: Workplace Pseudo-Information Gatekeeping

Abstract

Misinformation, misunderstanding, and rumors are not foreign to organizations. The cost of pseudo-information can be critical for the organization in terms of profit, stakeholder relationships, and reputation. For those reasons, organizations should make efforts to detect and prevent the spread of pseudo-information. This piece of research proposes and finds support in a model to gatekeep pseudo-information in the workplace, in which two-way symmetrical communication is an essential element for the model, predicting employees’ gatekeeping behaviors, and mediating the relationship between quality of the employee–organization relationship and gatekeeping behaviors. Then, the cultivation of relationships with the employees and the adherence to two-way symmetrical communication are cost-effective methods for the organization. Loyal and satisfied employees voluntarily debunk and combat pseudo-information.