Email a link to this page to: Type the code into the box:

Resources Basic Information Effective Teams in the Workplace Building and Managing TeamsDeveloping Dynamic and Fully Functioning Teams Managing Stress and Burnout at Work Stress Management TechniquesMaking a Work Plan Work for YouStrategies to Keep Work Stress at Bay5 Signs of Emotional Exhaustion at WorkTime Management to Prevent Stress A Stress Survival Guide for HR ProfessionalsHelping Employees with Mental Health Issues Get Back to WorkSecrecy at Work: A Growing Phenomenon Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills Developing Assertive CommunicationCreating and Maintaining Quality RelationshipsConflict at Work: From Problem to Productivity Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy SkillsNon-Verbal CommunicationSocial Skills Career and Financial Considerations Defining a CareerQuality of Life ConsiderationsInformational Interviews and MentoringEducationFinancing and ValueFinancing and Value Continued Building Knowledge and Skills Changing Your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities and CredentialsPersonal Knowledge and Informal LearningPublic, Documented Knowledge and Credential ProgramsLearning Knowledge vs. SkillLearning Knowledge vs. Skill: PracticeTime Management and OrganizationTime Management and Organization: Commitment Mapping Latest News AHA News: Can a Pay Cut Hurt Your Health?What Jobs Are Toughest on the Knees?COVID Threatens the 3 out of 4 Americans Who Can't Work From HomeCoronavirus Delivering a Big Economic Blow to WomenWorking From Home? Posture, Ergonomics Can Make It SafePandemic Has Left Nearly 43 Million Americans Without WorkGetting Back to Work Safely After LockdownMental Health is Big Issue For Police Officers Around The World: StudyAs Americans Return to Work, How Will COVID Change the Workplace?Nervous About Returning to Work? Take Precautions Against CoronavirusU.S. Jobless Rate at Nearly 15 Percent as Coronavirus Cases Top 1.2 MillionInjuries a Drain on Employee ProductivityJob Strain May Boost Odds of Serious Artery DiseaseHow Do Your Work Relationships Affect Burnout?One in 10 Workers Could Be Exposed to Coronavirus Weekly at WorkNurses May Need Suicide-Prevention ScreeningSome U.S. Workers Are Bringing Toxins Home to Their KidsWorkers With Cluster Headaches Take Twice as Many Sick DaysEmployers Need to Do More to Help Breastfeeding Moms: SurveyEven Female Bosses Face Sexual Harrassment: StudyMany of America's Most Critical Workers Are Short on Their Zzzs3 Easy Deskside Stretches to Keep Muscle Pain at BayAs Manufacturing Jobs End, Opioid OD Deaths May RiseLots of Overtime Could Send Your Blood Pressure SoaringAHA News: How to Keep Year-End Deadlines From Ruining Your HealthSleepy Nurses Could Put Patients at RiskLife Expectancy Shrinks for America's Working-Age AdultsSome Jobs Are Better for Women's Hearts Than OthersAHA News: Your Eating-On-The-Job Problems, SolvedConstruction Workers at Very High Odds for Opioid and Drug AbuseHealth Tip: Handling Job BurnoutLosing Your Job Can Be a Real Heart BreakerCab Drivers Breathe in Way Too Much SmogHealth Tip: Reducing EyestrainOnline Learning: What's in It for You?Health Tip: Stay Healthy at Work Questions and Answers How to Handle an Employee Who Tells Obvious LiesNew Job New ChancePromotionHelp For Aging Human Service Professionals?My HealthRelationship With My Boss #1Relationship With My Boss #2The Professor and MaryanneLusty BossSexual HarassmentAn Affair in the Workplace Blog Entries A Stress Survival Guide for HR ProfessionalsConflict at Work: From Problem to Productivity Using Dialectical Behavior Therapy SkillsHelping Employees with Mental Health Issues Get Back to WorkMaking a Work Plan Work for YouSecrecy at Work: A Growing PhenomenonEffective Listening in Small GroupsMental Health Software Project Management: Getting Started on the Right FootCan You Truly Be Yourself At Work?The World of Work - Have We Got It All Wrong?The Vortex of Violence: The Columbia Mall Shooting and BeyondAre Workplace Wellness Programs Worth It?Amazing Grief: When Resilient Magic Springs from the TragicBeware of Secondhand StressWhy Do We Dread Sunday: The Power of Anticipation?Work, Stress and HealthBuilding Stress Resilience and Organizational Hardiness Despite Doing "More with Less"The Visionary Emperor EncounterBe So SensitiveCareer Choices and OCD - The Right BalanceWant to Change Careers? You're Not AloneStressed at Work? You're Not AloneBooster Breaks at Work: Hit or Bust?Engaging and Energizing Audiences through Purposeful Play: An Interactive Exercises Model and MethodThe Final Five "N & N" Tools and Techniques for Saying "No" (and Meaning It) - Part IIITaking It Easy Can Actually Boost Your ProductivityThe Greatest Barrier and Passageway to Effective Communication at Work: “You”!Stress and Depression, Those Monday Mornings What I Learned about Engagement, Motivation, and Leadership from a 13-Month Old - Part IRescuing and Rejuvenating a Manager at the Bureaucratic Burnout BattlefrontAdding Insult to Injury: When a Type A-Driven Company Shuts Down Workplace Grief - Part ISeven Keys to Mastering the Message, the Medium, and the MeetingDesigning Effective, Efficient, and Emotionally Intelligent Phone/Web Conferencing: Part VIDesigning Effective, Efficient, and Emotionally Intelligent Phone/Web Conferencing: Part VDesigning Electronic Conferencing that's Effective, Efficient, and Emotionally Intelligent: Part IVHow to Relax When Faced With School and Work StressWhat are the Real Roots of Workplace Stress?Designing Electronic Conferencing that's Effective, Efficient, and Emotionally Intelligent: Part IIIDesigning Electronic Conferencing that's Effective, Efficient, and Emotionally Intelligent: Part IIDesigning Electronic Conferencing that's Effective, Efficient, and Emotionally IntelligentBurnout and (Vicarious) Trauma-Inducing Work Environments: Part IIISurviving the Conference Call Battlefield: Skills and Strategies for Successful Small Group Phone Conferencing - Part IISurviving the Conference Call Battlefield: A Contentious Case Vignette - Part IBridging the International Corporate Geo-Cultural Divide or Presenter Beware and Buyer Be AwareTo Retire or Not, A Complicated DecisionAre You an Engaged Workaholic?Understanding CriticismLoss, Ghosts, and the Stages of Grief: Part IIGrieving the Sudden Death of a Beloved Mentor, Manager, and “Man for All Seasons”Are You Ready for Productive Griefbusting in the Workplace?Productively Focusing Job Interview-Performance Anxiety: Transforming "Perfection" into Purpose, Patience and PossibilityDepression and Stress at WorkPursuing a Job, Self-effacement is Self SabotageShould I Change Careers During an Economic Recession?Managing a Work Life with DepressionWork and Family, are Boundaries Fading?To Succeed or Not to Succeed, That is The QuestionNo Slouching HereA Discussion of DisappointmentGossip: A Form of Workplace WarfareWork Place Climate, Depression and Job SearchingWhat Should I do Now? Recession and UnemploymentOne strategy you’ll want to know to be less stressed and more focused at work and life! Burnout, What It Is and What To Do About ItWhat Can You Do When You Have No Idea of What to Do?Sexual Harassment in the Work Place, An ongoing problemStress and Obesity, Do You Ask for Help? Videos Working your way to Better HealthPromoting Health in the Workplace The Multigenerational Workplace: Understanding and Hiring MillennialsDisclosure and Workplace Accommodations for Individuals With ADHDThe Psychologically Healthy WorkplaceCarpal Tunnel: Who Gets It? Unemployment and DepressionADHD in the Workplace: Finding Success Tips for a Healthier Workplace Using Technology and Social Media to Support Workplace Health ProgramsThe Art of Stress-Free Productivity: David AllenHow to make your workspace ergonomically correct The 3 Step Process to Deal with a Sexual Harassment IncidentResolving Conflicts with Coworkers or Family Members5 Problem-Solving Skills to Manage Workplace Stress8 Habits of Resilient LeadersCan Work Stress Hurt Your Heart? New Frontiers in Workplace Health Links [4] Associations[1] Employment[2] Government[3] Information[14] Journals[1] Services[18] Videos[1] Apps Book Reviews Chained to the DeskCoping With Difficult PeopleCrossing the Unknown SeaFull Steam Ahead!How Full Is Your Bucket?How Successful People ThinkLife StrategiesMind MappingNot Your Mother's LifeProcrastinationThe Art of Exceptional LivingThe Creative BrainThe Magic of Thinking BigThinking for a ChangeTreating People WellWelcome to Your BrainWhen Perfect Isn't Good EnoughWhy Smart Executives Fail

Related Topics Mental Disorders Autism ADHD Alcohol & Substance Abuse Anxiety Disorders Bipolar Disorder Conversion Disorders Depression (Unipolar) Depression Primer Disorders of Childhood Eating Disorders Dissociative Disorders Impulse Control Disorders Internet Addiction Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Personality Disorders Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Schizophrenia Sexual Disorders Suicide & Self-Harm Tourettes and other Tic Disorders Medical Disorders Alzheimers And Other Dementias Cancer Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Colds and Flu Crohns Disease / Irritable Bowel Diabetes Epilepsy Heart Disease High Blood Pressure Memory Problems Men's Health Multiple Sclerosis Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sleep Disorders Stroke Women's Health Wellness Anger Management Emotional Resilience Exercise Mindfulness Positive Psychology Smoking Stress Reduction Weight Loss Life Issues Abuse Adoption Child Care Dating Disabilities Disasters Divorce Domestic Violence and Rape Elder Care Family & Relationship Issues Grief & Bereavement Issues Pain Management Parenting Parenting Child & Adolescent Development Overview Child Development and Parenting: Infants Child Development and Parenting: Early Childhood Pregnancy Infertility Child Care Relationship Problems Self Esteem Sexuality & Sexual Problems Speech Problems Terrorism & War Healthcare Health Insurance Health Policy & Advocacy Health Sciences Mental Health Professions Treatments & Interventions Alternative Medicine Assessment Medications Psychotherapy Lifespan Development Pregnancy Child & Adolescent Development Overview Child Development and Parenting: Infants Child Development and Parenting: Early Childhood Sexuality & Sexual Problems Homosexuality & Bisexuality Aging & Geriatrics Death & Dying

	Allan Schwartz, Ph.D. Dr. Schwartz's Weblog
Allan Schwartz Homepage · View Full Archive · Contact Dr. Schwartz · RSS Feed

Do you engage in gossip? Have you ever been the target of other peoples' gossip? Is gossip just harmless socializing?

New research done by Nicole Hess, an evolutionary psychologist at Washington State University in Vancouver, says gossiping can be a form of warfare in which information is used as a weapon that could potentially damage a competitor's reputation. An effective defense, according to the study, is having friends.

Dr. Hess reports that she instructed 500 subjects to imagine that they were competing for a promotion within a corporation.  She then had them read a list of positive and negative statements, or "gossip," about their rival for the promotion. She then asked them how likely they would be to relay each piece of "gossip" to others in the office.

Hess found that participants tended to spread more of the negative comments when she raised the stakes  by increasing the salary or decreasing the number of promotions available. But, she says, they were less likely to denigrate their competitor when  told their opponent had a friend in the company. In other words, having an ally within the community deters negative gossip. 

According to Hess, the reason that having a friend in the community deters gossip is that your friend will be in the know and may be able to help you use "retaliatory gossip" to stop attacks.

Dr. Hess reports that the sexes were equally willing to use negative gossip to gain an advantage in the competition. She therefore suspects that a tendency to gossip depends more on the situation than on the gender.

However, other research suggests that women do engage in gossip more than men. If this is true it may be due to what Hess describes as women facing more competition within groups as compared to men. Therefore, women "should be more inclined to gossip competitively about group members," according to Hess.

What does not seem clear is why women should face more competition within groups as compared to men?

From my point of view, gossip has never been harmless and, in fact, can and does cause a lot of damage. I have seen many therapy patients over the years who complained bitterly about gossip and how it damaged their reputation. There are those times when gossip seems to me to be a form of scapegoating where the group unites against one person who becomes the target of aggression and hatred. In all, gossip can create a hostile and paranoid atmosphere in a place of work with extremely damaging effects on morale and productivity.

What are your experiences with gossip?

Your comments and questions are encouraged

Allan N. Schwartz, PhD

Readers who live in the Boulder, Colorado metro area, or in Southwest Florida may contact Dr. Schwartz for face-to-face consultation. He is also available for psychotherapy through Skype video for those who are not in Florida or Colorado. He can be reached via email at dransphd@aol.com for details.

Share:

Email a link to this page to:

Type the code into the box:

Link: (Here's how to do it ... )

To link to this article:

1. Copy the HTML link code shown in the box just below.
2. Paste this HTML code into your blog or web page, into a forum post or a blog comment you make, into your Facebook feed, etc.

<a href="//mhn.centersite.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=29092&cn=207">Gossip: A Form of Workplace Warfare</a>

Thank you!

A Kingdom was Lost...for want of a Tale? - Penny D. Lightbourne - Feb 10th 2012

...I'm sure that many people have there own parables of experience with gossip, that would span the lifetime, from being victimized by childhood tattletaler's  through peer pressure in high school, and so on.  The actual mimetic content of all forms of gossip is highly virulent and is a deteriment to a healthy collective mentality in the community of a social biosphere.  Gossip can be quite literally dangerous when untrue and create untold destruction of one's personal and professional life.  There is such a thing as Online Reputation Management, but as long as it's protecting the innocent.  It's a healthy thing to experience a robust case of deconstruction, whether in personal or corporate life, just like healing through the measles or such disease's, we can become stronger, mature, and develop a natural immunity to the damage created by gossip.  But, there is certainly room here to widely develop the law, especially regarding prosecution for life threatening damage to oneself through erroneous discussion; especially via the Internet, or company web-rings, or through social media, etc. It's very much time for society in general to adopt wholesome life-affirming values both within the workplace and without...so that a personal kingdom or two does not go bereft of it's well earned fortune, or future potential.

Pack mentality - Josephine - Jul 11th 2010

Hi Dr Schwartz

I agree with one of the other commentators who say that there is a pack mentality involved in workplace gossip. In my case it was (still is) a group of men who loved to spread rumours about me via email as they were too cowardly to make their comments to my face. Unlike the previous story, my crime was not being shy but daring to be friendly to a new employee who was initially shy. To have the same person turn against me because they found a new pack of friends in his gossip circle has really got me down. I've become quiet and withdrawn as a result and guess what? Even that is news to gossip about apparently.

Interestingly eough, the men concerned are all on the lower pay scales and have delusions of grandeur about how much they contribute to productivity. I still feel very hurt and betrayed about being the subject of gossip and can't believe that my 'friend' didn't have the guts to declare the gossip unfair and instead chose to continue to fuel it. I don't think there is an easy way to nip this in the budand  unfortunately will only quieten down once a new victim is selected.

What happened to me . - ... - Apr 1st 2010

Well , one day at work ..

i was having this stomache problem and i couldnt really eat full amounts of food or i would throw up .. and i always eat im not one to starve myself . but one time i got food and i ate it even tho my stomache didnt agree with it , i pretty much forced it and i ended up throwing up .. and the gossip of the week from my manager ! was i was belimic .. can you believe that , she's seen me eat about a million times and did i puke , no .. so ya that was a problem ..

Aggression - Bridie - Sep 7th 2009

I preceive gossip as a form of aggression.  Men  seem less likely to gossip and seem more likely to go fist to cuff.  Women often use gossip as a way to "bond".   

I don't think of gossip as passive aggressive behavior because it is anything but passive.  In some situations gossip can feel like harassement to the victim of gossip as well as to the person hearing the gossip. 

Adapting to the Pack - 2002to2009 - Apr 20th 2009

Hi, Dr. Schwartz. I agree. It’s a pack animal behavior that ultimately hurts everyone. Yet the gossipers (in my experience) were so self-righteous about it that they seemed to regard it as part of their job. I think a few hated that they couldn’t list it on their resume. And of course, they were the hardest workers there, according to them. Sometimes that was almost true. Other times, they were just average. Above all, you could see they were far from seeing their behavior as inferior. And why should they? Reality T.V. endorses it.   What Hess pointed out about having friends might seem self-evident to someone with social savvy. It also explains why, when I was at my shyest, I was the target of that form of “warfare.” I remember people telling me: “You never talk; you’re always just working.” In retrospect, I realize that was a warning.  It turned out that the amount I worked didn’t protect me from politics. Ignoring that aspect of the workplace as being beneath me was a mistake.   Having a social network is vital. It takes as much time to realize all the advantages to having one as it takes to develop social confidence. There are little permutations that don’t occur to you until you’ve done it. It can help you save money, find a new job, or just a great new restaurant or salon. If you don’t have friends, the hyenas will hone in on you. To them, your friendlessness is just laziness, and if they have enough pull, you can lose your job.   It may not even be “retaliatory gossip,” from friends that saves you, but just the threat of it that deters a pack-animal, kind of like picking a rock up in front of a dog.   From my experience in the blue-collar realm, I heard just as much nasty gossip from men as I did women. (But then, I was amicable to everyone, regardless of gender or age). I did notice that gossip was more overt with people in their late teens and early twenties, more subtle from people in their thirties, downright sneaky from people in their forties and fifties, basically absent from the few I knew in their sixties, and overt again in a guy who was 78. My age might have been a factor in all that. I was, or appeared to be, in my early twenties throughout my job-hopping stint.