Rethinking Gossip in Organizations Dr Kathryn Waddington Reader

Rethinking Gossip in Organizations Dr Kathryn Waddington: Reader in Work and Organizational Psychology Gossip © Pol Ledent www. ledent-gallery. be

Thus, the task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees. Erwin Schrödinger (1887– 1961) Schrödinger and the cat www. shardcore. org

Overview 1. Present research findings and framework from my Ph. D in Organizational Psychology: The Characteristics and Function of Gossip in Nursing and Healthcare Organizations 2. Consider the role of Evolutionary Psychology in Business Science 3. Rethink the role of organizational gossip as a tool for team development 4. Exchange ideas from UK Association for Business Psychology’s (ABP) new: Certification Scheme for Business Psychologists

How I Came to Study Gossip Ø Masters in Occupational and Organizational Psychology Dissertation Research Masters Students: you never know where your dissertation and course might take you! Ø Investigating perceptions of organizational culture in a UK University using Edgar Schein’s theoretical and conceptual framework Macro culture Artefacts and symbols Espoused values Assumptions

Crucial Questions Why are things done the way they are around here? Use of metaphor: If the organization were something else what would it be? OK! Switch your tape recorder off and I will tell you! [tells me ‘off the record’ gossip – I have a huge ‘aha’ experience! I’ve described this place as a leaky colander – you get told little bits of stories: ‘did you know that so-and-so [a colleague] has been paid off? They got £X’ ‘They got that much? ’

But …. Nothing in the Literature! Because …. Negative Stereotypes Prevail

And Yet ……. . ! A SIGN OUTSIDE A UK PUB NEAR THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

The Evolutionary Psychology Evidence. Base & Business Science

My Doctoral Research Questions: • What effect does gender and position in the organization have upon who gossips to whom, and about what topics? • What role does gossip play in the expression and management of emotion? • How is the ‘gossiper-gossipee’ interpersonal relationship experienced? • What organizational factors promote/inhibit gossip? Working Definition of Gossip: • evaluative ‘talk’ - spoken, written, visual • between at least two people • about events or an absent third party - individual, group or organization)

Main Findings • It is a myth that ‘women gossip but men talk’! • Women were more likely to use the word ‘gossip’ and valued the interpersonal relationships it sustained • Men were more likely to use other words to describe the same behaviour, e, g. ‘networking’, ‘debriefing’ after a meeting • Men and managers (including women managers) were more likely to use gossip in an instrumental / political sense, e. g. as a means to an end • Gossip is a way of doing ‘emotional labour’ – the process of managing feelings to fulfil the emotional requirements of a job when workers are expected to regulate their emotions during interactions with customers, co-workers and superiors – Arlie Hochschild (1979) The Managed Heart.

Rethinking Gossip: Organizational Communication & Knowledge A framework for understanding, reflecting upon and researching gossip in organizations – see Waddington (2012)

Using the Framework for Team Development Ø UK National Health Service (NHS) Scandals, e. g: (i) Mid Staffordshire - poor care, unacceptably high mortality rates – patients died unnecessarily; (ii) Kerr-Haslam Inquiry – long term sexual abuse of female patients by two psychiatrists Ø Public inquiries show that the root causes of such scandals are known about [knowledge] and talked about [communication] ‘everybody knows’: Gossip and rumour can provide the background against which subsequent action or inaction can be considered and tested…The approach of an institution to such “soft” information as gossip, rumour, innuendo, informal soundings, expressions of concern etc, may also be relevant to how the institution sees its responsibilities within society. Kerr Haslam Inquiry 2005 (Department of Health)

NHS Case Study: Working with Clinicians & Teams in Difficulty Whole teams have become involved in team dynamics which are stressful, unacceptable and present a risk to patient safety … What is clear is that people talk about what is happening, the grapevine, informal feedback and coffee shop conversations are often the first signals. Top teams must consider what they do with such intelligence. IN OTHER WORDS GOSSIP! Dr Maxine Craig – Head of Organizational Development South Tees NHS Trust http: //www. midstaffspublicinquiry. com/sites/default/files/uploads/Maxine_Conn or_-_paper_1_-_supporting_teams_and_clinicians. pdf

Team Development Methodology 1. Using informal intelligence to build up a pattern or picture what’s the gossip? 2. Supporting local honest conversations what are people saying about the team? 3. Convening the key leaders and accountable officers 4. Fully understanding the issue from all perspectives using the organization gossip framework 5. Holding the boundaries and the communication strategy to include informal communication 6. Supporting self assessment, discovery and problem diagnosis gossip is a symptom of the ‘problem behind the problem’ 7. Planning and delivering the intervention 8. Making the plan a reality 9. Planning the transition to healthy functioning again 10. Evaluation and review what’s the gossip?

Feedback on the Gossip Framework The frameworked really well with the team. They were able to get to the moral and ethical issues of their gossiping behaviour much more readily than I had been able to do before. It also allowed me to frame the light and shade of gossip - the personal wellbeing and the abuse of power. Maxine Craig

Using the Framework with the ABP UK New Certification Scheme https: //theabp. org. uk/professional-development/business-psychology-certification/ • Associate Business Psychologist (stage one) • Senior Business Psychologist (stage two) • Fellow of the Association for Business Psychology (stage three) Three core areas: • The Consulting Cycle (CC): advise/diagnose/design/implement/evaluate • Professional Business Practice (PB): e. g. business acumen/business ethics • Areas of Practice (AP): – The Psychology of Selection and Assessment – Strategy and Organisational Effectiveness – The Psychology of Learning and Development – Behavioural Science – Human Motivation and Wellbeing

Conclusion • Need further research to evaluate the framework as an OD tool and its application in different cultural contexts • Always acknowledge the ethical dimension of gossip • What are the implications for working with organizational gossip in Russia? • What might need rethinking / challenging in the areas of practice you work in? • Avoid conceptual cleansing – gossip is not universally positive: the good, the bad and the toxic • Avoid mainstream management discourse and methods • Develop new and imaginative methods of capturing gossip ‘in situ’

And Finally. . ! A SIGN OUTSIDE THE UK BRITISH LIBRARY IN LONDON [IN SEPTEMBER 2019] Thank you!