Content Analysis of Gossip at Different Levels of a Hospital

Abstract

Background: Most societies have a negative attitude toward gossip and managers are concerned about the impact of gossips on the communication in an organizational environment. Our study examined the perception of gossip, and the context of gossip at different levels of a hospital, a case of organization with high communicational relation among staff. Also, the differences between the gossip context within the organizational context and within the social environment have been considered. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 informants, 9 in each of three groups: nurses, supervisors and managers of the Hospital. Recorded interviews were analyzed using content analysis, and results for each group of respondents were compared. Finally, the main gossiping issues for each group were categorized. Results: The study revealed that the topics of gossip in a hospital can be divided into eight main categories, and 34 sub-categories all identifiable by special topics. These main topics included confidentiality issues, merits, financial status/standing, personal characteristics, position, communications, biography, and job conditions. In terms of organizational gossip, a person’s merit in the workplace and financial standing were of particular interest to the participants of this study. Also, the gossip topics at different levels among nurses, administrators, and managers had significant differences. Conclusion: Managers should acknowledge different gossip contents among people at different organizational levels, and that employees do not have the same motives for communication at different organizational levels. Additionally, the distances between contents in the Tendency to Gossip Questionnaire and categories in the organizational environment need more studies, to explore precedents and outputs. Managers may use these findings to facilitate organizational change and communication.

Is not workplace gossip bad? The effect of positive workplace gossip on employee innovative behavior

“…But it turns out from this study that employees circulating positive workplace gossip tend to exhibit more innovative behaviors in the work. Gossip is opined as a tool to understand a socializing environment ( Aghbolagh et al, 2021 ). We argue that there are at least two sides of positive effects of employees circulating positive gossip in workplace: On the one hand, positive gossip can create a harmonious socializing environment, which is favorable for shaping a good innovation atmosphere; on the other hand, positive gossip is conducive to integrating employees into the workplace circle and developing a good sense of belonging to the organization.…”

A Cross-cultural Comparison of Perception of Professional Well-being by Iranian and Ukrainian Academic Staff

“…Psychosocial factors at the workplace, primarily occupational stress, are recognized as sources of poor health and well-being of workers in many occupational settings (Cox et al, 2008). Gossip in the workplace has been recognized as a factor that strongly undermines occupational health and well-being (Aghbolagh et al, 2021). Occupational well-being is related to organizational culture (Boekhorst, 2021) as well as individual job characteristics, including the freedom to make decisions about work performance (Schultz, 2008;Van Horn et al, 2004;Warr, 1990).…”

Вектори Соціальної, Організаційної Та Економічної Психології [Електронне Видання]

“…Існують дані про зв'язок професійного благополуччя з багатьма об'єктивними параметрами. Фактором, що сильно підриває професійне здоров'я і благополуччя були визнані плітки на робочому місці (Aghbolagh et al, 2021) [1]. Професійне благополуччя пов'язане з індивідуальними характеристиками роботи, зокрема з автономністю (Van Horn et al, 2004;Schultz, 2008;Warr, 1990) [9,7,11].…”