Impact of Hearing Negative and Positive Gossip about Supervisor: A Within-Person Investigation

Abstract

Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we investigate the somatic, psychological, and behavioral effects of gossip on receivers when they hear positive and negative workplace gossip about their supervisor. Specifically, we focus on the daily influences of workplace gossip. Analyzing data from 227 employees revealed that hearing negative and positive workplace gossip about a supervisor was related to sleep quality at night. That is, hearing negative gossip about a supervisor was related to poor sleep quality due to resource loss, whereas hearing positive gossip about a supervisor was related to better sleep quality due to resource gain. We also examined the interaction effect of hearing positive and negative gossip about a supervisor on sleep quality. Moreover, our results show that sleep quality positively impacted next-day vitality, which in turn led to receivers’ psychological withdrawal behavior, work engagement, and supervisor-directed citizenship behavior. Our study extends gossip literature by applying a receiver-centric lens on both positive and negative workplace gossip. Also, with an experience sampling methodology design, we capture the impact of daily experiences of hearing workplace gossip about a supervisor, which broadens our understanding of the temporal consequences of workplace gossip. Implications and future directions are also discussed.