Hearing gossip about your leader can harm your wellness.

Gossip about a boss can lead to rumination.

Focus on recovery when you hear gossip about your leader.

How often do you hear gossip in the workplace? Gossip is a normal type of human interaction. In fact, employees spend approximately 40 minutes each week gossiping. While gossip is not always positive, there may be some benefits. For example, when you hear gossip, it can help you understand group norms and expectations to help your performance on the job. You may also receive warnings about potentially difficult colleagues so you can be better prepared. However, gossip also often comes with a host of downsides. Below, we dig into the research on problems associated with gossip about your leader.

The Trouble With Gossip About Your Boss

Gossip is defined as evaluative talk about another person who is not there. Thus, gossip about your leader means that leader is not present to hear what is being said about them. Recent research shows that hearing gossip about your leader can be fairly harmful to your well-being. The researchers who conducted the study theorized that employees who hear negative gossip about........

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