It’s never easy settling into a new office, but it can be especially difficult finding one’s business bearings if it feels like you’re meeting an entirely new workforce every few weeks. Indeed, many new workers nowadays increasingly find themselves perceived as office veterans after mere months on the job due to extraordinarily high turnover rates amongst colleagues.
Gossip, meanwhile, is typically seen as a dirty word in professional settings. While plenty of boardrooms have seen their fair share of whispers, rumors, and scandals, such scenarios rarely benefit businesses as a whole. Surprisingly, however, recent research conducted at Binghamton University suggests there is one variety of gossip that can actually benefit organizational wellbeing and help lower turnover rates among employees. Read on to learn more.
The office space is always greener
From “the great resignation” a few years ago to the ongoing struggle between employees and employers over the merits of remote work versus an office approach, today’s professionals appear much more willing than earlier generations to hop from job to job in pursuit of a better fit.
One survey from earlier this year tells us as many as one in three U.S. employers anticipate even higher rates of employee turnover in 2024. As far as why so many workers are seeking out new opportunities, better pay topped the list of reasons cited by hiring managers, followed close behind by excessive and unreasonable demands at current positions.
Notably, another interesting factor motivating many to switch jobs is the resignation of their coworkers. A high turnover rate is seen as a major red flag right now among most professionals. If everyone else is jumping overboard, why should you stay on a sinking ship?
Positive gossip – a potential difference maker
So what does gossip have to do with all this? While most forms of gossip serve to socially divide and sow feelings of negativity and even shame, scientists from BU have found that positive gossip helps promote lower odds of workforce turnover. Consequently, study authors conclude positive gossip holds the potential to improve an organization’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.
“Organizations should be aware of the impact of positive gossip because turnover can be a very important factor in dictating an organization’s success,” says Jinhee Moon, a doctoral student at the Binghamton University School of Management who conducted the study with a team of additional researchers, in a university release. “To make employees participate in positive gossip, the organization should do the right things by treating their employees well, and being aware their behaviors can show they care about their employees.”
While this certainly isn’t the first research project to focus on gossip in the office, this latest study separates itself from earlier initiatives by placing a particular emphasis on how engaging in workplace gossip may benefit employees.
What is positive workplace gossip?
To conduct this research, published in the scientific journal Group & Organization Management, the research team polled a total of 338 health workers on their experiences involving both positive (praising, supporting, defending others and organizations) and negative workplace gossip.
Some examples of gossip statements included are as follows:
- “At work, I sometimes complain about my organization when management is absent.” (negative gossip)
- “If I feel treated badly by management, I talk about this to my colleagues.” (negative gossip)
- “I sometimes praise my organization’s capability when the management is absent.” (positive gossip)
Positivity is more interesting
One of the key takeaways from this study is that positive gossip is generally considered more valuable than negative gossip. Surveyed workers reported feeling like they actually got something out of the conversation while discussing either management or the entire organization in positive terms. Employees also tend to gravitate toward information that can potentially be used to enhance or maintain their organizational status, and those kinds of details rarely come via negative gossip.
Another finding (or lack thereof) worth mentioning: Contrary to researchers’ expectations, the study documented no association whatsoever between negative gossip and coercive workplace power.
“We expected that if you participate in negative gossip, maybe you’re trying to appear powerful or controlling or want to ‘beat someone up,’ but we couldn’t find any supportive results,” Moon explains. “If anything, we found that people didn’t value that type of gossip as information and just saw it as someone who wants to complain. So, if you’re thinking about negative workplace gossip, you might want to save your time because there’s no positive impact for you.”
Gossip goes both ways
Any regular place of discussion, whether it be the breakroom or a social media page, can turn into an echo chamber if the participants aren’t sure to consider outside perspectives. Engaging in juicy negative gossip all day every day may entertain certain personalities, but doing so also means depriving oneself of the other side of the story.
There will always be plenty of reasons to stand up and scream “I quit!” in the middle of a meeting, but sometimes it’s far more beneficial to focus on the positives of the present situation while you plan your next career move. All in all, study authors say their work highlights how positive gossip can help encourage lower rates of employee turnover.
“It can be very hard just to quit your job, and if you’re experiencing difficulty where you work, maybe you want to participate in positive gossip with your colleagues and talk about some of the more bearable aspects of the organization,” Moon concludes. “Eventually, that can help you gain some personal power. It’s a very convenient way to reduce negative feelings toward your own workplace, which can help you more in the long run.”
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