Journal Articles

Evolutionary Perspectives on Workplace Gossip: Why and How Gossip Can Serve Groups

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Gossip in the workplace has generally been ignored by researchers and often criticized by practitioners. The authors apply a transdisciplinary evolutionary approach to argue that gossip is a natural part of social organizations and that certain conditions can encourage socially-redeeming gossip. They draw on case studies involving cattle ranchers, members of a competitive rowing team, and airline company employees to juxtapose the nature and functions of gossip across a wide set of communities. They find that workplace gossip can serve positive functions when organizational rewards—measured in context-specific currencies—are fairly allocated at the level of small-scale groups rather than the level of individuals within groups. Given the diversity of their case studies, the authors are able to identify financial and nonfinancial rewards that facilitate group-serving gossip in different environments. Their findings make sense in light of an evolutionary perspective that recognizes similarities between the range of environments in which humans have primarily evolved and the workplace conditions that invite socially-redeeming gossip.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Group Organization Management

Call Number

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Publisher

: sage publisher., 2010

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

10596011

Classification

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Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Vol. 35 no. 2 April 2010 pp. 150-176

Subject(s)

Evolution
Multilevel
Trandisciplinary

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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