A University of Iowa study finds men who gossip are seen by co-workers as less qualified for leadership roles, while women at the office who may also be talking out of turn often aren’t judged as harshly.
Study co-author Trevor Spoelma, a professor of management and entrepreneurship in the UI’s Tippie College of Business, says it’s all about perceptions and stereotypes.
“What we found in our study is that when men gossip,” Spoelma says, “they are rated as less competent by their peers and in turn, they’re viewed as having less leadership potential in their teams.”
Spoelma says the study found men who gossip at work will pay what he calls a higher “gossip penalty” than women who do the same thing. Women also pay a gossip penalty, he says, but not to the extent of men.
“Gossip is stereotypically associated with women, so when men engage in it, they’re violating these traditional expectations that we have, that society has, that men should be direct, assertive and independent,” he says. “So when men engage in gossip, that’s kind of where this penalty, these negative perceptions arise.”
The UI researchers conducted three studies, including surveys of 272 undergraduate students who were working in teams for a class project, and two online surveys of about 450 U.S. workers.
The studies confirmed gossips received lower competence ratings regardless of gender, but men were docked more heavily than women. In some cases, Spoelma says gossip isn’t entirely bad, as it can be used to warn coworkers about problems, or reinforce positive group behaviors.
“We know that gossip can have certain functions in groups and teams. For instance, alerting a member to someone who might not follow through on the work, they might not be a good teammate, that kind of thing,” Spoelma says, “so gossip certainly has its role in organizations.”
However, when it’s used to criticize other workers unfairly, question their competence, or just to complain, he says gossip can damage team cohesiveness.
If you want to emerge as a leader in your group, especially men, Spoelma says there’s reason to be cautious about engaging in gossip.
The study is being published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
