Abstract
Negative workplace gossip (NWG) is a form of verbal, indirect, and covert attack against others in an organization. Given the increased ease of engaging in NWG using modern communication technologies, NWG has become a major risk factor that threatens the victims’ psychological health and can encourage their unethical behavior. This study links NWG to deviant workplace behavior (DWB), revealing the negative role of NWG in sha** employees’ work attitudes and behaviors. Working from the perspective of social cognitive theory, this study built a moderated mediation model based on three-wave data from 338 Chinese workers. NWG was found to induce DWB through the mediator of moral efficacy. Furthermore, sensitivity to social information amplified the direct influence of NWG on moral efficacy. By revealing the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions by which NWG induces DWB, this study contributes to the literature on NWG and social cognitive theory. Practical implications to prevent and control the negative influences of NWG are also offered.
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The data that supports the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Our research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 72102189], the MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences [grant number 21YJC630015; 22YJC630211], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant number DUT21RC(3)089].
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Cheng, B., Zhang, Z. & Peng, Y. Linking negative workplace gossip to deviant workplace behavior: A social cognitive perspective. Curr Psychol 43, 6613–6626 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04854-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04854-0