Good talk, bad talk: workplace gossip and well-being

Purpose Workplace gossip is a common phenomenon within organizations, often serving as an informal communication channel. It is valuable to distinguish between positive and negative gossip, as they have different motivational attributes. However, previous research on positive gossip has primarily focused on the senders and recipients of gossip. As the subjects of gossip, the impact of positive gossip on gossip targets has often been overlooked. The purpose of this study is to reveal the distinct effects of these two types of workplace gossip on gossip targets' work well-being, and to offer new insights for the widely pursued goal of enhancing employee well-being. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on social cognitive theory, we explained the impact of positive and negative workplace gossip on targets' work well-being from a unified perspective of self-efficacy and organizational support. We conducted a two-stage study in multiple enterprises in Harbin and Wuhan, China. Findings The results indicate that: (1) Positive workplace gossip increases work well-being by increasing self-efficacy. (2) Negative workplace gossip reduces work well-being by reducing self-efficacy. (3) When organizational support is high, the relationship between positive workplace gossip and self-efficacy is stronger. However, organizational support did not buffer the negative effect of negative workplace gossip. Originality/value This study presents a unified mechanism for the effects of positive and negative workplace gossip on the work well-being of gossip targets, revealing the potential benefits of positive gossip for these targets. Furthermore, it offers a new perspective on how employees enhance their work well-being through proactive cognitive strategies.