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Oh no They Didn’t! Dishing the Dirt on Office Gossip Stemming from Envy and Jealousy

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Office Gossip and Minority Employees in the South African Workplace

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Abstract

Envy and jealousy are rife within organisations. Envy and jealousy can manifest when resources are scarce and there is competition to achieve these. Envy and jealousy are also aimed at high flyers or attractive people within an organisation. Envy and jealousy have been studied from various perspectives but in this chapter, I look at these negative behaviours and how they can manifest in office gossip where gossipers try and malign the reputation of the target of gossip. A qualitative interpretivist approach is used to unpack the stories of marginalised, marginalised women in various workplaces. This study highlights the negative impact of envy and jealousy on the lives of nine marginalised Indian women from diverse sectors in corporate South Africa. The study follows a semi-structured interview approach where the participants unpack their workplace experiences and how they navigate their careers in environments that are riddled with envy and jealousy, mobbing, bullying and office gossip.

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  1. Human Resource Management Department, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Nasima M. H. Carrim

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    Nasima M. H. Carrim

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Carrim, N.M.H. (2023). Oh no They Didn’t! Dishing the Dirt on Office Gossip Stemming from Envy and Jealousy. In: M. H. Carrim, N. (eds) Office Gossip and Minority Employees in the South African Workplace. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2691-6_9

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