Gossip, Organization and Work: A Research Overview (State of the Art in Business Research)

Kathryn Waddington is reader in work and organisational psychology at the University of Westminster, UK.

Title: Gossip, Organization and Work: A Research Overview (State of the Art in Business Research)

Author: Waddington, Kathryn

ISBN: 9780367653002

Binding:

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Publication Date: 2021-12-31

Number of Pages: 108

Weight: 0.2904 kg

Gossip, Organization and Work: A Research Overview takes a long overdue look at the role of gossip and organizations, arguing that it is constitutive of organizational life. This book is a must read for students of organizations wanting to understand the social, organizational, and ethical functions of gossip. Gail T. Fairhurst, Distinguished University Research Professor, University of Cincinnati USA

Rather than being discounted as trivial talk, Kathryn Waddington vividly captures the ubiquity and functionality of gossip as it pertains to work and organizational life. Her book presents a rich and engaging narrative that offers new insights to everyone who experiences organizations and who shares, listens to, reads, or observes gossip. Grant Michelson, Professor of Management, Macquarie University Australia

Gossip is the stuff of a workplace's culture and may be an important alarm bell that leaders need to hear. Waddington outlines research strategies for approaching this slippery and changing phenomenon in the COVID era, when work and workplaces are also slippery and changing. Nick O'Connor, Clinical Lead, NSW Excellence Commission Australia

It is rare for a text to be scholarly and enjoyable, yet Kathryn Waddington's new book Gossip, Organization and Work: A Research Overview achieves just that. Aimed at academics and practitioners, both groups will find much to engage, provoke, and stimulate their thinking, on this important yet neglected topic. Jo Silvester, Professor of Work Psychology, Loughborough University, UK

Organizational gossip is a specific form of voice, of having oneself heard on the work floor. It excites, delights and troubles all parties involved: gossiper, recipient, and target. Indeed, gossip can have tremendous effects, positive and negative ones. These 'functions' of gossip are by now well-studied. Time for new perspectives! In this book, Kathryn Waddington calls for gossip research to be 'eclective, evocative, and imaginative'. She paves the way. Ad van Iterson, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Thank goodness we can finally take gossip seriously! This fascinating book manages to be both scholarly and accessible, synthesizing many ideas to provide comprehensive coverage of the field. Importantly, it outlines fruitful directions for research and, for this reason, I almost wish I was starting out on a PhD again with this in my hand/bookbag! Helena Cooper-Thomas, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

All practising business psychologists need to read and fully digest the pearls of wisdom in this book. If you are in the business of shaping culture, you need to know about gossip. Waddington insightfully shows how practitioners can engage with gossip as an essential and valid data source that helps them better understand an organisation's culture and shed light on the sometimes hidden narrative/story that shapes it. Stewart Desson, Association for Business Psychology (ABP) Board Member, CEO of Lumina Learning

An invaluable and highly accessible resource that confirms the author's place at the forefront of the field of gossip and work. James Greenslade-Yeats, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

This book celebrates gossip as an art form, as a social interaction ritual (in which most of us love to engage) and as vital to knowledge-exchange and know-how in organizations. That the author has been was able to deliver such breadth of information in a relatively slim volume is a testament to her deep understanding of this topic. Alison Fixsen, Senior Lecturer and Ethics Coordinator, School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, UK