Socializing through the grapevine: A content-based functional perspective on the receipt of workplace gossip during newcomer socialization.

Abstract

During organizational entry, informal communication plays a critical role in newcomer socialization. One common yet underexamined form of informal communication is the receipt of workplace gossip from coworkers. Existing evidence, though limited, has highlighted the null or detrimental effects of receiving gossip on newcomers. In contrast, our research challenges this view by proposing that receiving gossip can also play a functional role in socialization but uncovering this potential requires moving beyond the predominant focus on gossip frequency to consider the content of the gossip itself. To this end, we develop a content-based functional perspective, proposing that the qualitative attributes of received gossip-specifically, work-relatedness, truthfulness, and interestingness-underpin its informational and relational functions during socialization. We tested our theoretical model using a 12-week experience-sampling study conducted over newcomers' first 3 months of organizational entry, involving 168 newcomers and 1,741 weekly observations. The results largely supported our hypotheses, showing that, above and beyond the frequency of gossip received, the three attributes of gossip content enhanced newcomers' norm clarity and social integration. In turn, norm clarity increased task proficiency, while social integration improved affective commitment. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).