The Relationship Between Gossip And Reputation

Introduction

People like to talk about other people at work. In other words, there is widespread interest and participation in gossip across the workplace in organizations. However, gossip is often seen as a negative aspect of organizational life. The popular management perspective to some extent exemplifies a view of gossip associated with negative and pejorative assumptions and should be discouraged or banned. Consistent with this perception, companies often attempt to dissuade employees from engaging in gossip. Nevertheless, gossip is ubiquitous and still makes up an integral part of the communicative social structure of organizations. There is a need to consider the effects of gossip in relation to organizational issues such as culture, power, identity and reputation of the firm. This paper will explore the role of gossip, both positive and negative, in reputational development of individuals in modern organizations.

Definitions

Gossip is defined as an 'idle talk' or 'chit chat' about daily life, an informal evaluative talk (written or spoken) often about a third person who absent from the conversation (Wittek, 1998). Gossip enables the communication of emotions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes about the experience of work and organizational life. As such, gossip is usually expressed in small trusted groups, which have expectations and informal systems that influence who gossips to whom and about what subject.

Regarding reputation, when gathering information about an individual, interested parties will often turn to reputation in order to make decisions regarding the individual. This reputation is built upon information gathered via various, often informal, sources like gossip; and is used to assess the individual regarding ability, potential rewards, autonomy, etc. While people may develop a firsthand reputation from their interaction partners or observers' evaluations, they also tend to develop a secondhand reputation when these evaluations are further shared and spread with other third parties through gossip.

Gossip as an enabler

In the case of building a reputation, gossip may not only be of assistance; but in fact a necessary component to becoming 'known for something'. Gossip gives individuals an opportunity to be seen and heard by more than one's immediate cohort. Individuals can focus on a specific skill or trait for which they wish to acquire a reputation, and attempt to convince others (i. e. , their supervisor) of this. If they are successful, they will gain a reputation for that particular trait, and as such, individuals outside their immediate influence (i. e. , those above their immediate supervisor) will know them for their positive reputation. Because information spread via gossip requires more discussion from a group than does formal information, gossip should provide a better vehicle for spreading and developing a reputation.

Moreover, current theory suggests that positive gossip may indeed strengthen reputations and advance careers (Rooks et al. , 2011). Furthermore, those gossiping about work related topics (e. g. , an individual's reputation at work, as opposed to more 'social' topics such as divorce and plastic surgery) are seen in a better light than those who gossip about more frivolous matters. Therefore, work related gossip is not only more acceptable, but also more likely to be passed on to others.

Furthermore, gossip is shaped by the norms and values of the group and as such is readily accepted, therefore, it may be used as a means of reinforcing the social norms of the group. Often individuals may fear negative discussion of their behaviors by others if they behave in an 'inappropriate manner' when contrasted with established norms. For this reason, individuals may attempt to behave in a positive manner in hopes that others will speak about their positive acts. Indeed, people care about their reputation and adjust their behavior when gossip may affect their reputation and potential costs and benefits in future interactions (Wu et al. , 2016). This 'positive gossip' has been suggested to favorably affect not only the subject of the gossip, but also the individual spreading the gossip. If the information is seen as reliable and valuable, the individual spreading the gossip can accrue reward power over those who are receiving the information. This reasoning is consistent with resource dependence theory in which an individual with unique knowledge posses specific power (i. e. , that knowledge). Furthermore, sharing gossip can often enhance the standing of the messenger (i. e. , the individual who is telling the gossip) by demonstrating his/her ability to provide informal, yet accurate information that is not readily available via 'normal' communication channels.

Gossip as a barrier

On the other hand, if gossip is precipitated principally by suspect or sinister motives toward other people then gossip might not merely harm the target of gossip itself but also the gossiper. That is, evaluative talk about other persons might point to and perpetuate flaws such as low self-esteem and self-respect in the gossiper’s own character. By concentrating on the ostensible shortcomings and faults of others might, in some cases, be an attempt to deflect or divert attention from one’s own limitations or inadequacies.

Additionally, people who spread biased reputation are vulnerable to punishment by the gossip targets and recipients, who may eventually discover the deception (Giardini, 2012). Importantly, humans may have some psychological adaptations to assess gossip veracity from situational cues, such as multiple sources of gossip (i. e. , frequency of the same information received from others) and independence among gossipers. Furthermore, according to a recent study involved 128 individuals, high-frequency gossipers were perceived as less powerful and were liked less than low-frequency gossipers, and those who gossiped negatively were liked less than those who gossiped positively. High-frequency negative gossipers emerged as the least powerful and least likable targets.

Conclusion

It is important to acknowledge that the role of gossip on reputation development could be positive or negative as well as intended and unintended. In my opinion, gossip can be an enabler at entry or low-level management if it is used strategically by people who want to focus on a specific skill or trait for which they wish to acquire a reputation and attract good gossip about their behavior. Additionally, for the gossipers, by demonstrating their ability to provide informal, yet accurate information that is not readily available via 'normal' communication channels, the gossipers can also gain trust and popularity if the information they provided is correct. However, if the information turns out to be inaccurate, it will backfire the gossiper. Additionally, high-frequency negative gossipers emerged as less powerful and likable people. Moreover, I think gossip will be a barrier for those who want to be move up to the top level management (senior or executive) because as top-level managers, you are expected to be collected, experienced and have to spend time on problems that really matters, so if a top executive still engage in gossiping, their reputation will suffer and they will not be well regarded and respected by their subordinates or other executives as a result.