|
Everybody gossips. Known
as the "evil tongue", gossip can be abusive, vicious and undermining. It can taint the image of people unable to defend themselves, create
cliques and splinter communities. But new research suggests that gossip can create bonds between people.
It teaches members of a group what
behaviour is acceptable. Evolutionary scientists theorise that without the traditional gossip network, society would crumble.
"Two-third
of all human conversation is gossip, because it is essential to our social, psychological and physical well-being," says psychologist Jack Levin
in his book Gossip - The Inside Scoop.
Some researchers say sharing rumours about colleagues can help create a more close-knit working
environment. That gossip is how we arrange our world as social animals.
Evolutionary psychologist Nigel Nicholson of the London School of Business
believes gossip is good for you. It helps us establish and maintain relationships, cement social ties and bond with other members of our social circles.
Nicholson says gossip fills in vital information about people's motives and intentions.
Psychologist Frank McAndrew explains that in prehistoric
times people lived in small groups.
"How well you did socially - by that I mean how successful you were at attracting mates and
reproducing - depended, to a great extent, on your social skills and knowing what other people were up to," McAndrew says in the online US
publication Business Report.
"A corporate group, psychologically speaking, is no different than the
prehistoric cave people. The person who is tuned into what's going on around them socially is going to do better than the person who's not, assuming they are equal in other ways," says McAndrew.
Gossip is powerful. It drives not just tea parties, but world markets. Gossip oils the workplace. It is the vehicle through which information is
imparted to ill in the gaps and plug the holes.
Fortunes rise and drop on bits of information. Brokers are renowned for working the rumour
mill. At times some even fuel a view to spin the market in a direction that best serves their agenda. Insider trading is based on information that's
derived in informal situations.
The office is a brewing pot for gossip. People spend hours in close proximity with each other. There's an
incestuousness about the workplace as people mutter about their lives, their colleagues and their bosses.
Gossip enables people to learn about a
situation before placing themselves in it. What's it like working for that company? What kind of care does the old age home deliver?
Subtleties
guide the environments within which we operate. When you're pitching an idea at a new client, is the head honcho who's going to buy the ad campaign enticed
by humour or emotion?
|
