Gossip at Work

Unsanctioned Evaluative Talk in Formal School Meetings

Bibliographic Data

ID7434612
AuthorsTim Hallett (0000-0001-6839-5465, Indiana University Bloomington), B Harger (0000-0003-3105-0273, Albright College, Reading, PA), Donna Eder (Indiana University Bloomington)
Year2009
Volume38
Issue5
Pages584-618
Publication date2009-09-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Ethnography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0891-2416 • E-ISSN: 1552-5414
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0891241609342117
OpenAlexW2104419930
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited71

This article uses a form of linguistic ethnography (LE) to analyze videotaped recordings of gossip that took place during formal school meetings.By comparing these gossip data against existing models of gossip based on data collected in informal settings, the authors identify eleven new response classes, including four forms of indirectness that operate to cloak gossip under ambiguity and seven forms of avoidance that change the trajectory of gossip. In doing so, this article makes three larger contributions. First, it opens a new front in research on organizational politics by providing an empirically grounded, conceptually rich vocabulary for analyzing gossip in formal contexts. Second, it contributes to knowledge about social interactions in organizations. By examining gossip talk embedded within a work context, this project highlights the nexus among structure, agency, and interaction. Third, it contributes to understandings of gossip in general. By examining gossip in a context previously unexamined, this project provides analytical leverage for theorizing conditions under which gossip is likely and when it will take various forms

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access