The double-edged sword of negative supervisor gossip
When and why negative supervisor gossip promotes versus inhibits feedback seeking behavior among gossip targets
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9890776 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Qianlin Zhu (0000-0002-8507-2788, Shandong University, corresponding author), Elena Martinescu (0000-0003-2378-7072, Vrije University Amsterdam, the Netherlands,, corresponding author), Bianca Beersma (0000-0001-8705-9045, Vrije University Amsterdam, the Netherlands,, corresponding author), Feng Wei (0009-0002-7326-7534, Tongji University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 864-886 |
| Publication date | 2024-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Human Relations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-7267 • E-ISSN: 1741-282X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00187267231165885 |
| OpenAlex | W4362561347 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 56 |
How does being the target of negative supervisor gossip influence the functioning of targeted employees? We draw on feedback intervention theory to examine the beneficial and detrimental effects of negative supervisor gossip on targets’ feedback seeking behavior (FSB). Results from an online scenario study ( N = 731) and a multi-wave field study ( N = 249) showed that being the target of negative supervisor gossip led to high task reflexivity, which promoted FSB, but also led to high negative affect, which inhibited FSB. Furthermore, targets’ implicit theory of ability moderated the indirect relationships between negative supervisor gossip and FSB. Specifically, negative supervisor gossip stimulated task reflexivity and FSB especially when targets had a strong incremental theory. In contrast, negative supervisor gossip increased negative affect and stifled FSB especially when targets had a strong entity theory. Our findings indicate that negative supervisor gossip is a double-edged sword for targets’ engagement in FSB, thus providing a balanced view of its effects. We provide guidance for supervisors to better deliver and for employees to better receive different forms of feedback
Affect (linguistics · Economics · Gossip · Gossip protocol · Management · Negative feedback · Physics · Supervisor · Task (project management · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Communication · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology
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The double-edged sword of negative workplace gossip
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How Multi-Source Gossip Affects Targets’ Emotions and Strategic Behavioral Responses
Seeing Opportunities From Conflicts
The Hidden Cost of Decision-Making Autonomy at Work
Openness to being gossiped about
When and how supervisor's negative gossip influence target's proactive and withdrawal behavior
How Are We Doing After 30 Years? A Meta-Analytic Review of the Antecedents and Outcomes of Feedback-Seeking Behavior
How Does Trust Affect the Performance of Ongoing Teams? The Mediating Role of Reflexivity, Monitoring, and Effort
Integrating Moderation and Mediation
Moving beyond assumptions of deviance
Helping and Voice Extra-Role Behaviors
The relationship of emotional exhaustion to work attitudes, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors.
Endogeneity
A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality.
Objective self‐awareness as a nonaversive state
Who are the objects of positive and negative gossip at work
Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect
The effects of feedback interventions on performance
Servant Leadership, Team Reflexivity, Coworker Support Climate, and Employee Creativity
The call for an increased role of replication, extension, and mixed‐methods study designs in organizational research
Workplace gossip
Effects of self-awareness on antinormative behavior
Learning from supervisor negative gossip
Supervisor negative feedback and employee motivation to learn
Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion
Implicit theories, attributions, and coping
Norm talk and human cooperation
Dynamics of self-regulation
Tell Me the Gossip
Target Article
Research on Gossip
Why People Gossip
Psychological adaptations for assessing gossip veracity
Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |