Effect of Perceived Negative Workplace Gossip on Employees’ Behaviors

TLDR

Negative workplace gossip causes social undermining and significant adverse effects, especially for employees who feel targeted. The study develops a conceptual model showing that perceived negative workplace gossip differentially affects in‑role behavior and organizational citizenship behavior by altering employees’ self‑concept (organizational‑based self‑esteem and perceived insider status), and it seeks to explain the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions of these effects. The authors empirically tested the model with 336 employees from seven Chinese firms, examining how perceived negative gossip impacts in‑role behavior and OCB. Results reveal that perceived negative gossip reduces in‑role behavior and OCB, with organizational‑based self‑esteem and perceived insider status mediating these effects, while hostile attribution bias moderates both the self‑concept pathways and the overall relationship, underscoring the harmful impact of gossip.

Abstract

Negative workplace gossip generates social undermining and great side effects to employees. But, the damage of negative gossip is mainly aimed at the employee who perceived being targeted. The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model in which perceived negative workplace gossip influences employees in-role behavior and organizational citizenship behavior differentially by changing employees' self-concept (organizational-based self-esteem and perceived insider status). 336 employees from seven Chinese companies were investigated for empirical analysis on proposed hypotheses, and results show that: (1) Perceived negative workplace gossip adversely influences employees' IRB and OCB. (2) Self-concept (OBSE and PIS) plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and employees' behaviors (IRB and OCB). (3) Employees' hostile attribution bias moderates the relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and self-concept (OBSE and PIS); and also moderates the mediating effect of self-concept (OBSE and PIS) on the relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and employees' behaviors (IRB and OCB). Thus, our findings provide deeper insights into the potential harmful effects of gossip. In addition, we help to explain the underlying mechanism and boundary condition of these effects.