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Why gossip might be good for the workplace

Researchers, Dr Stefanie Reissner and Victoria Pagan, from Newcastle University Business School, have discovered that what can be considered gossip in the workplace can actually help boost work performance.

Drawing on data collected from interviews with 75 people, between 2010 and 2012, Reissner and Pagan explain that personal stories, from the funny to the emotional, can allow individuals to connect within a work setting.

The sharing of ‘personal stories’ can help build and maintain an organisation’s internal community. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the research shows that in fact informal work conversations can establish constructive working relationships that are vital for effective operations, leading to improved business outcomes.

They show how such a ‘connection’ enables people to understand colleagues and their actions in the workplace. This leads to improved judgement about behaviour, with benefits such as employees feeling more comfortable challenging one another. The result is more robust decision making and, arguably, better work performance.

The academics do note, however, that despite the benefits of peer storytelling in the workplace, there can be negative effects. For example, the communication grapevine – an informal network by which unofficial information is transmitted within a place of work – can be harmful when rumour or inaccurate information leads to misunderstanding and destroys relationships, trust and reputation.

Reissner, who is a Lecturer in Organisation Studies at Newcastle University Business School, explains: “From childhood, individuals are conditioned to respond to and understand problems, aims or issues, through storytelling. This translates into the world of work.

“Our research shows that a company is a community built on relationships, and the peer storytelling we investigated helped employees engage with both colleagues and work. In fact, what we found was that far from distracting, peer storytelling can be good for the organisation.

“The question is: does being professional mean to be authoritative and impersonal on all occasions? Our study shows that peer storytelling can alleviate pressure at work. If people are more at ease at work, they can be more focussed and productive in their daily routines.

“We also found that peer storytelling could be used by managers to create credible and reliable relationships with staff by cutting through hierarchical boundaries.

“This is pertinent nowadays when we are seeing rises in new business models like ‘hot desking’ and limited personal interaction with colleagues and managers. Appreciating the human side of any organisation is vital in building a cohesive workforce in today’s network economy.

“I hope that our findings go some way to challenge the way employers think about how they build staff relationships and HR policies to foster meaningful interaction in the workplace.”

Reissner and Pagan’s research has been published by Routledge: ‘Storytelling in Management Practice.’ The book explores how manager use storytelling in practice, as well as its functions at different levels within an organisation.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Newcastle University .