Effects of the Rumor Mill

Workplace gossip is hard to escape. Whether around the office or in boardrooms, employees chatter about colleagues and supervisors behind their backs. These casual conversations can have consequences for employees’ well-being and company performance, a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology finds. When the gossip is about supervisors, its effects could actively undermine productivity and morale.

The researchers, including Mays management faculty members Huiwen Lian and Yifan Song, found negative gossip about supervisors fuels cognitive and emotional exhaustion for the recipients. Employees who absorb such talk tend to ruminate about what they have heard, which leads to increased stress, reduced concentration, and an inability to disengage from workplace concerns. The damage is not limited to the workplace. Gossip can affect sleep quality and drain employees’ energy and motivation the following day. This fatigue accumulates over time and has detrimental effects.

The researchers also note that while positive gossip portrays a supervisor favorably, its combination with negative gossip could create a discordant narrative. While positive gossip alone is often beneficial, employees who hear both negative and positive gossip about their supervisor are more likely to ruminate to reconcile the contradictory information. This deepens confusion and amplifies the negative effect.

The big lessons for companies: Prioritize open communication, streamline feedback mechanisms, and establish formal channels for employee concerns. “Gossip is unlikely to be eliminated in the workplace,” says Song, an assistant professor. “Companies can maximize the benefits of gossip by encouraging an open-door policy.”

Gossip is inevitable and firms must learn how to deal with it. “Supervisors need not panic when they realize employees are gossiping about them,” says Lian, a professor who holds the Lawrence E. Fouraker Professorship. “They can find out the reasons for gossip and communicate better to reduce the sense of insecurity.”