5 Benefits of Gossip (Even Negative Gossip)
Talking behind someone's back can actually lead to positive change.
Posted Jun 22, 2015
In a study conducted by Harris Interactive asking more than 1,500 employed adults to name their biggest pet peeves about their jobs, workplace gossip topped the list, cited as Number One by 60% of respondents. Yet, relationship experts estimate that 65% to 80% of our daily conversations are about other people, so it can't always a bad thing, right?
That's true. Here are five benefits of workplace gossip:
- It gets out what’s really bugging you.
Deborah Beroset, a communications expert for leadership training company Landmark, says that sometimes the urge to gossip isn’t really about the person who is irritating you, but about a situation that’s become untenable. Gossiping can be an opportunity to assess the underlying reason for the situation: Do you feel overworked or under-appreciated? Is it really your coworkers fault? Sometimes asking for changes in the work environment is the real issue.
- It encourages cooperation.
Researchers at Stanford University found that when people learn about the behavior of others through gossip, they often use this information to align with those deemed cooperative. Those who have behaved selfishly can then be excluded from group activities, based on the prevailing gossip. This serves the group's collective good, since selfish people may exploit more cooperative individuals for their own gain.
- It relieves stress.
According to the Stanford study, another benefit of gossip is that it relieves anxiety. In an experiment, researchers found that participants who witnessed someone behaving badly experienced stress and an increase in heart rate. Warning others about what they saw, however, lessened the effect.
- It fosters self-improvement.
All gossip doesn’t have to be negative. Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands found that hearing good stories about others provided motivation for self-improvement; even when the gossip is negative, there is often a positive outcome for those being “targeted.” The study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found that when people know others may gossip about them, they are more likely to learn from a bad experience and reform their behavior by cooperating more in future group settings.
- It provides a reality check.
Not that I'm advocating gossip, but there's nothing wrong with getting a reality check. “If you want to know whether someone else is having a similar experience, you can simply ask in a non-accusatory manner whether anyone else has experienced the same phenomenon,” says clinical psychologist Andrea Andrzejczak of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. "That way," she says, "You’re not actually dissing the person, you’re simply inquiring."
Jennifer Haupt is a freelance writer based in Bellevue, Washington.
Gossip
Gossip has been defined as "casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true." Gossip often has a negative connotation to it (as noted in your title).
Consultant Mary Abbajay noted, "Gossip can have many adverse side effects on an organization. It can increase conflict and decrease morale. It results in strained relationships. Gossip breaks down the trust level within the group, which results in employees second-guessing each other and ultimately running to the supervisor to clarify the directions or instructions, or to settle the differences that will arise. Gossip is the death of teamwork as the group breaks up into cliques and employees start refusing to work with others."
I agree. Even in marriages, negative conversations about one's spouse to others instead of having a discussion about difficult issues with one's spouses is, in the long-run, destructive to the relationship. That is why third party professionals are so useful. They allow people to express their frustrations to each other in a safe environment with the goal of interrupting negative patterns of communication and strengthening the marital bond.
Dr. Ken Newberger
www.MarriageCounselingAlt.com
Southwest Florida
Thank you for posting this.
This is helpful!