People cannot live without gossiping, while some gossip can be petty and unprofessional, other types of gossiping can be fun, normal, even healthy and productive. Experts say that talking about others behind their backs does not have to be a guilty office pastime, it can be a useful tool to navigate the workplace and learn important information.
Some of the reasons why gossiping is good at the workplace include:
Gossip helps people validate their emotions
Gossip can ‘validate our emotions’ and help us figure out where other people stand on things, they say.
Additionally, gossip helps make sure if we perceive the world in the same way as other colleagues and coworkers receive it.
It is really about information gathering, so if someone at work says something like ”Ralph has been taking a lot of sick leave recently,” it could open the door for others to share their judgments and evaluations.
For example. It can help one gauge how much sick leave is regarded as ‘appropriate’ among colleagues (regardless of formal policy), as well as who is empathetic or mean towards Ralph.
Gossiping helps people feel free
Gossiping helps office workers to free themselves from the burden of daily routine and personal problems. However, if a person speaks about some other individual, he or she will distract from daily issues or negative aspects and switch the attention to another subject.
According to the researcher at Stanford University, Dr. Matthew Feinberg (2014), ”Groups that allow their members to gossip sustain co-operation and deter selfishness better than those that do not.”
The researcher means that if a person notices something unusual in the behavior of his or her co-worker, these changes are mostly negative, he or she will warn the other co- workers in order to prevent them from mistreatment or fraud.
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Such gossips also help to find out whether a person is selfish or not because if he or she wants to warn the others about possible problems, such a person will be a great and co- operative employee, which is always good for the employer.
Both negative and positive gossip helps the worker feel better
According to the research that was conducted at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, hearing positive stories helps people to improve their personal skills, and hearing negative stories helps them to become more competent at work in order to avoid being a victim of gossiping.
For instance, the employer can inspire his or her worker, telling him or her a gossip about possible future benefits of making this or that kind of job better.
The worker will feel that he or she has privileges and will try to use these privileges to show his or her best sides at work. As a result, the employer is satisfied with his or her staff, and the worker is happy, feeling that he or she is better than the others are.
On the other hand, if a person hears some negative rumors about co-workers, such a person will try to work harder and look perfect at work so that not to become the next issue.
Therefore, gossiping stimulates people to improve themselves and become better, which is always beneficial for the business owners.
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