Supervisor workplace gossip and its impact on employees

Employee's performance and Kaizen events' success: does supervisor behaviour play a moderating role?

Purpose

The study's goal was to identify the factors contributing to the practical completion of Kaizen events (KEs). The effect of the work-study man's characteristics, the supervisor's conduct and the autonomy of the Kaizen team are analysed in this study.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 249 respondents working in the manufacturing sector in India, mainly those who had been involved in Kaizen projects. Three-step procedures, namely, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares, have been applied to test the research hypotheses through structural equational modelling.

Findings

The exploratory factor analysis extracted in-role performance, creative performance and human aspect as latent variables explaining work-study man's performance (eigenvalue = 1). The study's findings indicate that the performance of work-study man (in-role, creative and human) and supervisors' conduct is directly related to the success of KEs. It was shown that supervisors might influence the outcomes of KEs only by moderating the human aspects. Additionally, the degree of autonomy of the Kaizen team was found having a significant positive relationship with the success of KEs.

Practical implications

The current study suggests that in-role and creative performance are prime assets of a work-study man. At the same time, the human aspect is a delicate issue that can affect the supervisor's behaviour. Therefore, the study implies that work-study men have the tactics and abilities to work with other co-workers to make a Kaizen project successful.

Originality/value

Although the significance of Kaizen projects has been widely emphasised, past research has failed to establish what factors contribute to the success of Kaizen efforts. Similarly, the supervisor's critical role has been highlighted several times. However, it is unclear how their conduct influences the relationship between work-study man's performance and the effectiveness of Kaizen projects. This study contributes significantly to organisational culture and human resource management by answering these questions.

Negative workplace gossip and turnover intention among Chinese rural preschool teachers: The mediation of ego depletion and the moderation of bianzhi

INTRODUCTION

In China, the high turnover rates of teachers have become one of the biggest obstacles to the development of rural preschool education. Objective: Based on the social information processing theory and the strength model of selfcontrol, this study examined the relationship between negative workplace gossip and turnover intention and the role of ego depletion and bianzhi in this relationship.

METHODS

The questionnaire method was applied, and 411 rural preschool teachers in Hubei Province, China, participated in the survey.

RESULTS

The correlation results showed that negative workplace gossip was positively correlated with ego depletion, and ego depletion was positively correlated with turnover intention. After controlling for age, negative workplace gossip positively predicted turnover intention. The mediation analysis indicated that ego depletion played a mediating role in the relationship between negative workplace gossip and turnover intention. Moreover, the mediation effect was moderated by bianzhi. Negative workplace gossip had a stronger effect on the ego depletion of teachers without bianzhi than on that of teachers with bianzhi.

CONCLUSION

The current research is the first to clarify that ego depletion mediates the relationship between negative workplace gossip and turnover intention, and the mediation effect is moderated via bianzhi. These findings expand our understanding of the influential factors and formation mechanisms of turnover intention. In practice, this study provides a novel perspective for policymakers and administrators to reduce the turnover intention among rural preschool teachers in China.

Workplace gossip and the evolution of friendship relations: the role of complex contagion

Gossip is a pervasive phenomenon in organizations causing many individuals to have second-hand information about their colleagues. However, whether it is used to inform friendship choices (i.e., friendship creation, friendship maintenance, friendship discontinuation) is not that evident. This paper articulates and empirically tests a complex contagion model to explain how gossip, through its reputational effects, can affect the evolution of friendship ties. We argue that hearing gossip from more than a single sender (and about several targets) impacts receivers’ friendships with the gossip targets. Hypotheses are tested in a two-wave sociometric panel study among 148 employees in a Dutch childcare organization. Stochastic actor-oriented models reveal positive gossip favors receiver-target friendships, whereas negative gossip inhibits them. We also find evidence supporting that, for damaging relationships, negative gossip needs to originate in more than a single sender. Positive gossip about a high number of targets discourages friendships with colleagues in general, while negative gossip about many targets produces diverging trends. Overall, the study demonstrates that second-hand information influences the evolution of expressive relations. It also underscores the need to refine and extend current theorizing concerning the multiple (and potentially competing) psychological mechanisms causing some of the observed effects.

Spilling tea at the water cooler: A meta-analysis of the literature on workplace gossip

This paper presents a meta-analysis on workplace gossip as a predictor of individual, relational, and organizational outcomes. Our systematic review yielded 52 independent studies ( n = 14,143). Results suggested that negative workplace gossip has a more deleterious association with workplace outcomes than positive gossip. Furthermore, findings indicated that negative gossip has a disproportionately negative association with attitudinal/affective outcomes and coworker relationships for targets of gossip. Unexpectedly, results also suggested that senders and recipients of negative gossip may also experience highly deleterious outcomes; in fact, the relations between negative gossip and well-being, engagement/performance, supervisor relationships, and organizational outcomes were more negative for gossip participants than targets, although the direction of causality for these relations has yet to be conclusively determined. Overall, our results suggest that organizations and managers should take seriously the threat of negative gossip to the health of the organization at large, while simultaneously leveraging the potential benefits of positive gossip. Plain Language Summary This paper presents a meta-analysis on the topic of workplace gossip as a predictor of work-relevant outcomes. Results—which were based on 52 independent studies that, in total, employed 14,143 independent research participants—suggested that negative workplace gossip has a worse impact on individual, relational, and organizational outcomes than positive gossip does. Furthermore, our findings indicated that targets of negative gossip experience the worst outcomes in terms of attitudes/affect and coworker relationships, when compared with the outcomes of individuals who exchanged the gossip. Unexpectedly, patterns of results also suggested that individuals who exchange negative gossip at work may also experience highly deleterious outcomes, although the direction of causality for these relations has yet to be conclusively determined. Overall, our results suggest that organizations and managers should take seriously the threat of negative gossip to the health of the organization at large, and may also be able to leverage the potentially beneficial effects of positive gossip. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results.

Brokering or Sitting Between Two Chairs? A Group Perspective on Workplace Gossip

Brokerage is a central concept in the organization literature. It has been argued that individuals in broker positions—i.e., connecting otherwise disconnected parts within a firm’s social network—can control the flow of information. It would imply their increased relevance in workplace gossip. This allegation, however, has not been addressed empirically yet. To fill this gap, we apply social network analysis techniques to relational data from six organizations in Hungary. First, we identify informal groups and individuals in broker positions. Then, we use this information to predict the likelihood with which positive or negative gossip is reported. We find more gossip when the sender and receiver are part of the same group and more positive gossip about in-group rather than out-group targets. Individuals in broker positions are more likely the senders and targets of negative gossip. Finally, even if both the brokers and the boss(es) are the targets of their colleagues’ negative gossip, the combination of the two categories (bosses in broker positions) does not predict more negative gossip anymore. Results are discussed in relation to the theoretical accounts on brokerage that emphasize its power for information control but fail to recognize the pitfalls of being in such positions.

Putting a Spotlight on the Ostracizer: Intentional Workplace Ostracism Motives

Workplace ostracism is a prevalent and detrimental type of mistreatment. To curtail this harmful behavior, researchers need to identify who is more likely to intentionally ostracize others at work and the motives that drive them to do so. Past reviews of workplace ostracism focus primarily on the outcomes of ostracism, and the few that address the antecedents often examine a limited set of variables. We examined themes in the ostracism literature and determined that employees intentionally ostracize others due to either punitive or defensive motives. Punitive motives are focused on protecting the interests of the group, whereas defensive motives pertain to defending the interests of the self. We present a model of the ostracizer based on these motives and the associated perceptions of threat and negative emotions that precipitate ostracism. Our model provides an extension of the workplace ostracism literature by presenting a testable theoretical framework, rooted in appraisal theory, to explain why and when employees are likely to ostracize others at work. We also provided suggestions for an expansion of the ostracizer motives literature, with the goal of encouraging research that provides greater understanding of the perspective of the ostracizer.

Have You Heard That-"GOSSIP"? Gossip Spreads Rapidly and Influences Broadly

This study examines the impact of negative workplace gossip (NWG) on employee political acts (PA) and the role of ego depletion (ED) as a mediator. We also examined the indirect impact of NWG on PA through ED controlled by emotional intelligence (EI). A three-wave time-lagged study (paper-pencil based) was performed with 277 employees from various private organisations in Islamabad, Pakistan. The current data were gathered in three phases to reduce common method bias. Study results indicate that NWG positively affects employees' PA. The authors also found ED as a potential mediator in the association between NWG and PA. In addition, the results also indicate the indirect effect of NWG on targets' PA via ED is reduced by targets' EI, with the result that this connection is weak when targets' EI is high. Because this research is limited to a single region of Pakistan, particularly Islamabad, its findings cannot be comprehensive. Future studies should use a larger sample size to accomplish the same study. Future studies may include more organisations (that is, Public) to conduct a comparative analysis of the public and private sectors. This article, based on the affective events theory (AET), argues that EI should be utilised to mitigate the effects of NWG. Along with our significant and relevant theoretical contributions, we provide novel insights into the body of knowledge on how managers may prevent or minimise such PA. The current study results support all direct and indirect hypothesised connections, with important implications for theory and practice. A review of the existing literature indicates that EI may be associated with a reduction in employees' ED; however, EI has not been used as a moderator in mitigating the influence of NWG, ED, and PA in the past.

Does bad gossiping trigger for targets to hide knowledge in morally disengaged? New multi-level insights of team relational conflict

Purpose

Despite the recent extending research on knowledge hiding, there is still scant research on social stressor phenomena-related contextual antecedent factors and new cognitive mechanisms of knowledge hiding behaviors. To shed new light on this unexplored gap, this research explores the multi-level moderated mediation model that examines how and when negative gossip experienced by targets in the workplace induces their knowledge hiding from coworkers drawing from the lens of social learning and cognitive theories. More specifically, this study aims to evaluate the relationship between negative workplace gossip and knowledge hiding via moral disengagement, and this mediation effect is also moderated by team relational conflict as a novel boundary condition.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected multi-wave 338 employees’ data from 68 teams of cross-sectional industries in China, which were nested within teams. The collected nested nature data were analyzed by employing multi-level analysis based on hierarchical linear modeling.

Findings

The results suggested that negative workplace gossip first triggers moral disengagement and thereby, leads to knowledge hiding. Furthermore, the direct positive association between negative workplace gossip and moral disengagement was strengthened by increasing intra-team relational conflict. In addition, the mediation effect of moral disengagement between negative workplace gossip and knowledge hiding was also strengthened through increasing intra-team relational conflict.

Originality/value

This study first empirically examines the multi-level model using a new underlying mechanism (moral disengagement) and team-level boundary condition (relational conflict) and enriches the current literature on knowledge management and workplace gossip. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings and future research lines are also discussed, which will facilitate practitioners and academicians to curb counterproductive knowledge behavior.

Capturing Workplace Gossip as Dynamic Conversational Events: First Insights From Care Team Meetings

Even though gossip is a ubiquitous organizational behavior that fulfils important social functions (e.g., social bonding or emotion venting), little is known about how workplace gossip and its functions unfold in situ. To explore the dynamic nature and social embeddedness of workplace gossip, we develop a behavioral annotation system that captures the manifold characteristics of verbal gossip behavior, including its valence and underlying functions. We apply this system to eight elderly care team meetings audio- and videotaped in the field, yielding a sample of N = 4,804 annotated behaviors. On this empirical basis, we provide first insights into the different facets and functions of workplace gossip in real-life team interactions. By means of lag sequential analysis, we quantify gossip patterns that point to the temporal and structural embeddedness of different types of workplace gossip expressions. Though exploratory, these findings help establish workplace gossip as a dynamic conversational event. We discuss future interdisciplinary research collaborations that behavioral observation approaches offer.

Trust as a multidimensional phenomenon in LMX relationships

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to address the construction of trust in leader member exchange (LMX) relationships as a multidimensional phenomenon and identify the importance of emotional and collective factors contributing to this phenomenon.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Ten health care professionals (five leaders and five members) were interviewed to subject to qualitative thematic analysis.

FINDINGS

Four main themes in the data were identified (work roles, collectivity, interaction and participation) and linked to two main elements of LMX trust relations: core and contextual. The results extend understanding of the construction and maintenance of trust in LMX relationships, indicating that it is a more complex and socially constructed phenomenon than previously described.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS

Despite identified limitations of the study (the small amount of empirical material, interpretive research method and purposive sampling of participants), the findings reveal that constructing trust in LMX relationships is more multidimensional than generally portrayed in traditional LMX theory and its three-stage continuum. This study suggests that a broader perspective should be adopted in LMX research, treating it not only as a collective phenomenon but also considering leaders and members as emotional individuals.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Understanding the multidimensional nature of LMX relationships is helpful for developing interpersonal relationships in organizations and leadership practices through recognition of the importance of the transparency, practices and adequacy of mutual interaction. The results presented here may contribute to such understanding and help leaders to relate to members as both subjective individuals and parts of a complex social network. The results may also increase members' awareness of possible ways that they can promote the development of good LMX relationships in organizations.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The novelty of the study relates to the identification of the collective, emotional and multidimensional nature of LMX relationships.

Work-to-Family Spillover Effects of Workplace Negative Gossip: A Mediated Moderation Model

Existing research has found that workplace negative gossip exerts a negative impact on employees and organizations. However, there is a lack of study on the spillover effect of workplace negative gossip on employees’ families. This paper aimed to address this gap in prior literature. Based on resource conservation theory, we chose married employees who perceived or suffered from workplace negative gossip as the subjects and analyzed the effect of workplace negative gossip on their work–family conflict. We adopted a self-reported questionnaire to assess employees’ perception or experience of workplace negative gossip, psychological distress, level of neuroticism, and work–family conflicts. A total of 245 valid employee questionnaires were obtained from two-wave data collection in China. The results of the empirical analysis indicated that workplace negative gossip perceived or suffered by employees has a positive impact on their work–family conflicts, and psychological distress plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived or suffered workplace negative gossip and employees’ work–family conflict. Furthermore, we found that employees’ level of neuroticism moderates the positive effect of workplace negative gossip and work–family conflict, and it also moderates the mediating effect of workplace negative gossip on employees’ work–family conflict by psychological distress. The conclusion of this paper supported our previous hypotheses. Finally, according to the earlier findings, we discussed the theoretical contributions, practical significance, and limitations of the study and provided some practical suggestions for managers.

Leader self-enhancement values: curvilinear and congruence effects

Purpose

Assumptions regarding the effect of leader self-enhancement values on leader-follower relationships are oversimplified. To advance this conversation, we test non-linear and congruence effects. We hypothesize that leader self-enhancement values (via prestige) have an inverted U-shaped relationship with employee perceptions of leader-member exchange (LMX) and leader interpersonal justice, and that leader-follower incongruence is negatively related to LMX and interpersonal justice.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate our hypotheses we use hierarchical regression, polynomial regression, and surface plot analysis. Our sample consists of 193 leader-follower dyads from a variety of organizations.

Findings

LMX and interpersonal justice increase as leader self-enhancement increases, but begin to decrease at higher levels of self-enhancement values. Additionally, leader-follower self-enhancement incongruence is negatively related to interpersonal justice. Finally, LMX is lowest when leaders are higher than followers in self-enhancement values compared to when followers are higher than leaders.

Practical implications

It is critical to evaluate the level of leader self-enhancement values and/or the joint influence of the follower values (self-enhancement) to fully understand the effect of leader values on follower perceptions of the dyadic relationship. Organizations interested in facilitating high-quality leader-follower relationships should focus on the levels of the values and on mechanisms that facilitate leader-follower value alignment.

Originality/value

This work extends prior research assuming a direct, linear effect of leader self-enhancement values on follower outcomes. To fully understand the influence of leader values it is important to consider curvilinear and congruence effects.

The Influence of Negative Workplace Gossip on Knowledge Sharing: Insight from the Cognitive Dissonance Perspective

Increasing attention is drawn to the effect of workplace gossip on the organization. Negative workplace gossip is a negative evaluation of others behind their back in the workplace. Based on the cognitive dissonance theory, the study explored the relationship between negative workplace gossip and knowledge sharing, through the mediation of organizational trust and the moderation of self-efficacy. The regression results of a two-stage questionnaire survey on 173 Chinese employees suggested that negative workplace gossip negatively influenced employees’ knowledge sharing through organizational trust. Additionally, findings also showed that self-efficacy moderated the mediation of organizational trust in the relationship between negative workplace gossip and knowledge sharing. This research provided a new theoretical perspective on the impact of workplace gossip, which has management implications for informal communication and team-building.

Employee work adjustment scale for small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand

Purpose

Employee work adjustment (EWA) represents the ability of individuals to adjust effectively to working conditions, supervisors, the environment and their peers. To deal with work adjustment in different environments, companies need to both understand and continually assess their employees. The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to measure EWA for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in three stages to develop a measurement scale for EWA. First, 18 questions were developed as a questionnaire based on concepts and theories of EWA and validated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) into four dimensions such as work, supervisor, environment and peer adjustments. Then, a survey was conducted for 360 new employees in SMEs. Finally, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and convergent validity were tested along the four adjustment dimensions.

Findings

This research extended and broadened the EWA concept to provide theoretical support for the adjustment of intelligence research. Four dimensions were developed to measure EWA including aspects of work, supervisor, environment and peer.

Research limitations/implications

The EWA model was examined using EFA and CFA only. Questionnaire results suggested that concrete constructs were stronger because of single-source, self-assessed data collection as the sample included only employees of SMEs in high-growth sectors of Thailand. EWA findings exhibited a good fit but results require further future refinement and validation using a larger sample size and sampling area.

Practical implications

The EWA questionnaire has practical use regarding management behaviour and can assist companies and practitioners to better understand the required adjustments for new employees at start-up. This knowledge will help managers to encourage and support newcomers to work better and deliver effective results. Managers and practitioners can develop and hone work adjustment practices for new recruits according to the four dimensions proposed here.

Originality/value

The validity of this EWA questionnaire will facilitate the future study on boundaries with EWA measurements spanning SMEs contexts. Empirical research results verified that EWA assessment offered new perspectives to explore vital individual work adjustments that are necessary for new recruits to succeed. This instrumental support will help researchers to effectively understand EWA and explore its potential in future studies.