Learning from supervisor negative gossip: The reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers

Yun Bai,Fuli Li,Jie Wang,Tingting Chen

doi:10.1177/0018726719866250

Yun Bai, Fuli Li + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726719866250

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Abstract

Workplace gossip is generally viewed as a deviant behavior that negatively affects the work outcomes of employees. However, we argue that this negative view is incomplete. Drawing on the cultural learning perspective of gossip and social learning theory, we examine how the job performance of employee receivers benefits from supervisor negative gossip through reflective learning. On the basis of multi-source, cross-sectional designs, Studies 1 and 2 consistently find that supervisor negative gossip facilitates employee receiver reflective learning and subsequent job performance when controlling for two sets of theory-relevant variables. Study 3, which has a multi-source, cross-lagged panel design, provides further evidence of the directional relationship from supervisor negative gossip to employee receiver job performance through reflective learning. The findings of the three separate field studies support the positive effect of supervisor negative gossip on employee receivers from a learning perspective. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings in terms of how employee receiver job performance can benefit from workplace negative gossip.

Highlights

Gossip, or evaluative talk between two or more people in which judgments about an absent third party are made (Ellwardt et al, 2012b; Kurland and Pelled, 2000), is ubiquitous in social life
We first examined the discriminant validity of the focal variables, with individual measurement items as indicators
General discussion Drawing on the cultural learning perspective and social learning theory, we provide insight into the underlying learning process of gossip tapped by reflective learning

Summary

Introduction

Evaluative talk between two or more people in which judgments about an absent third party are made (Ellwardt et al, 2012b; Kurland and Pelled, 2000), is ubiquitous in social life. Vicarious punishment from supervisor negative gossip increases employee receivers’ awareness of their own behaviors and performance and drives them to make sense of whether their behaviors are appropriate and their job performance is satisfactory This reflective process helps employee receivers leverage the vicarious learning opportunities provided by supervisor negative gossip to develop a new understanding of their experiences that guides them to meet expectations, reduce wrongs and violations, and perform their jobs satisfactorily in the future. In Study 31, we adopted a multi-source, cross-lagged panel design to replicate the findings of Studies 1 and 2 and provide directional evidence of the effect of supervisor negative gossip on job performance through employee receiver reflective learning. 3 with a cross-lagged panel design to test the directional relationships

Participants and procedures

Results and discussion

Supervisor negative gossip

Limitations and future research directions

Conclusion