You walk into the break room at work and there they are: Three of your co-workers having a go at every one of your colleagues.
All you want is a cup of coffee and to get out of there, but one of them starts talking about a coworker’s recent absence from the office. The gossip reaches a fever pitch. You finally escape feeling like you betrayed a colleague because you listened to the rumors, but you just couldn’t help yourself.
Don’t worry, you are not alone.
According to the website chealth.net, gossip in one form or another happens all over the world among people of all ages. Biologists analyzed sample human conversations and found that about 60 per cent of our time was spent gossiping about relationships and personal experiences.
In fact, a recent University of Berkley study showed that gossip can have positive outcomes such as helping us police bad behavior, prevent exploitation, and lower stress.
The study also found that gossip could be therapeutic. Volunteers heart rates increased when they witnessed someone behaving badly, but this increase was tempered when they were able to pass on the information to alert others.
So strong was the urge to warn others about inappropriate behavior that participants in the study sacrificed money to send a “gossip note” to warn others who were about to play against cheaters.
Overall, the findings indicate that people need not feel bad about revealing the vices of others, especially if it helps save someone from exploitation, the researchers say.
On the other hand, too much pressure can, of course, be a bad thing, and gossip has great destructive powers. People use gossip for their own selfish interests at the expense of others. Subtle social cues can turn to hostility or manipulation and quickly trigger anger, shame, and resentment.
Don’t let this happen to you. Passing information to learn or help is one thing. Passing information to hurt is another.
