Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers
Workplace gossip is generally viewed as a deviant behavior that negatively affects the work outcomes of employees. However, we argue that this negative view is incomplete. Drawing on the cultural learning perspective of gossip and social learning theory, we examine how the job performance of employe...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publications Ltd
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/59493/ |
| _version_ | 1848799636515454976 |
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| author | Bai, Yun Wang, Jie Chen, Tingting Li, Fuli |
| author_facet | Bai, Yun Wang, Jie Chen, Tingting Li, Fuli |
| author_sort | Bai, Yun |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Workplace gossip is generally viewed as a deviant behavior that negatively affects the work outcomes of employees. However, we argue that this negative view is incomplete. Drawing on the cultural learning perspective of gossip and social learning theory, we examine how the job performance of employee receivers benefits from supervisor negative gossip through reflective learning. On the basis of multi-source, cross-sectional designs, Studies 1 and 2 consistently find that supervisor negative gossip facilitates employee receiver reflective learning and subsequent job performance when controlling for two sets of theory-relevant variables. Study 3, which has a multi-source, cross-lagged panel design, provides further evidence of the directional relationship from supervisor negative gossip to employee receiver job performance through reflective learning. The findings of the three separate field studies support the positive effect of supervisor negative gossip on employee receivers from a learning perspective. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings in terms of how employee receiver job performance can benefit from workplace negative gossip. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:38:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-59493 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:38:49Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | SAGE Publications Ltd |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-594932019-11-19T06:32:48Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/59493/ Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers Bai, Yun Wang, Jie Chen, Tingting Li, Fuli Workplace gossip is generally viewed as a deviant behavior that negatively affects the work outcomes of employees. However, we argue that this negative view is incomplete. Drawing on the cultural learning perspective of gossip and social learning theory, we examine how the job performance of employee receivers benefits from supervisor negative gossip through reflective learning. On the basis of multi-source, cross-sectional designs, Studies 1 and 2 consistently find that supervisor negative gossip facilitates employee receiver reflective learning and subsequent job performance when controlling for two sets of theory-relevant variables. Study 3, which has a multi-source, cross-lagged panel design, provides further evidence of the directional relationship from supervisor negative gossip to employee receiver job performance through reflective learning. The findings of the three separate field studies support the positive effect of supervisor negative gossip on employee receivers from a learning perspective. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings in terms of how employee receiver job performance can benefit from workplace negative gossip. SAGE Publications Ltd 2019-10-19 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/59493/1/Learning%20from%20supervisor%20negative%20gossip.pdf Bai, Yun, Wang, Jie, Chen, Tingting and Li, Fuli (2019) Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers. Human Relations . 001872671986625. ISSN 0018-7267 (In Press) Job performance; reflective learning; supervisor negative gossip http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018726719866250 doi:10.1177/0018726719866250 doi:10.1177/0018726719866250 |
| spellingShingle | Job performance; reflective learning; supervisor negative gossip Bai, Yun Wang, Jie Chen, Tingting Li, Fuli Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| title | Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| title_full | Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| title_fullStr | Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| title_short | Learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| title_sort | learning from supervisor negative gossip: the reflective learning process and performance outcome of employee receivers |
| topic | Job performance; reflective learning; supervisor negative gossip |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/59493/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/59493/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/59493/ |