Gossip and Nurses

Abstract

Gossip is a natural part of every social setting and has a profound influence on organizational behaviors. As the primary care givers in the hospital setting, nurses are the front line in generating and controlling gossip. It is essential that management recognize this dynamic in the nursing workforce so they can be proactive in developing strategies to effectively control gossip. This article highlights the positive and negative aspects of gossip and provides strategies to help nursing professionals effectively manage this workplace issue. Unmanaged gossip can have a negative effect on the workplace by damaging relationships and reputations. Gossip that is managed effectively can have a positive effect on the workplace by building social bonds within the nursing unit.

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

“…Positions for professionals remain vacant for around 175 days (Bonin, 2020), leaving most care institutions understaffed and increasing the workload for those who remain. Consequently, to deal with such a stressful work environment, nurses were found to use workplace gossip to share negative emotions and cope with stress (Waddington and Fletcher, 2005;Thomas and Rozell, 2007;Altuntaş et al, 2014;Jiang et al, 2019). In sum, we believe that these characteristics of the health care context give rise to a variety of workplace gossip behavior, making health care settings a suitable context to study gossip at work.…”

Gossip” in Organizational Communication Between Nurse, Doctor and Dentist Academicians

“…Gossip is largely a spontaneous form of verbal communication that two or more people use to praise or accuse people and to share valuable and important information (Kurland and Pelled, 2000;Michelson and Mouly, 2000;Foster, 2004;Atak, 2005;Waddington and Fletcher, 2005;Thomas and Rozell, 2007). People gossip to reduce anxiety, to relax while gathering or spreading information, to strengthen friendships, to socialize, to feel belonging to a group, to establish relationships between group members, to influence others, to have fun and to escape monotony (Laing, 1993;Kurland and Pelled, 2000;Rosnow, 2001;Foster, 2004;Michelson and Mouly, 2004;Solmaz, 2004;Waddington and Fletcher, 2005;Thomas and Rozell, 2007). They gossip when formal communication channels do not work effectively, when information sharing is poor or unsatisfying, when information is hidden, and when they experience crises and uncertainties such as restructuring, transfers, promotions, dismissals and times of change (Laing, 1993;Houmanfarand Johnson, 2004;Atak, 2005;Eroğlu, 2005;Sabuncuoğlu and Tüz, 2005;Waddington and Fletcher, 2005;Solmaz, 2006;Yılmaz, 2009).…”

“…They gossip when formal communication channels do not work effectively, when information sharing is poor or unsatisfying, when information is hidden, and when they experience crises and uncertainties such as restructuring, transfers, promotions, dismissals and times of change (Laing, 1993;Houmanfarand Johnson, 2004;Atak, 2005;Eroğlu, 2005;Sabuncuoğlu and Tüz, 2005;Waddington and Fletcher, 2005;Solmaz, 2006;Yılmaz, 2009). The literature notes that gossip has advantages such as simplifying information flow, reinforcing group solidarity, reducing employees' stress and assisting formal communication by conveying wishes and complaints to managers (Michelson and Mouly, 2000;Waddington and Fletcher, 2005;Thomas and Rozell, 2007). It also enables managers learn about changes in the environment in a timely manner and to take required precautions (Kurland and Pelled, 2000;Solmaz, 2004;Atak, 2005).…”

“…It also enables managers learn about changes in the environment in a timely manner and to take required precautions (Kurland and Pelled, 2000;Solmaz, 2004;Atak, 2005). It helps managers to assess employees' response to new practices (Michelson and Mouly, 2000;Michelson and Mouly, 2004;Eroğlu, 2005;Thomas and Rozell, 2007) and is used consciously by managers to create organizational cultures and convey ideas (Laing, 1993;Eroğlu, 2005;Hopkinson, 2010).…”

“…Although gossip is ignored or seen as unimportant, efforts are still made to prevent it, however it cannot be eliminated entirely even in the best organizations (Atak, 2005;Yılmaz, 2009). Therefore, it is important that managers should manage gossip to maximize its positive effects, by controlling it, rather than trying to suppress it (Michelson and Mouly, 2000;Atak, 2005;Thomas and Rozell, 2007;Yılmaz, 2009).…”