Historically gossip has been vilified as tainted talk, something to be avoided or sanctioned. Women’s gossipy conversations were seen as idle talk at best and witchcraft at worst. Conversely, in Jane Austen’s novels gossip was a plot device and seen as literature. Now it is emerging as a topic worthy of serious scholarship in the social sciences.

This talk will draw upon material from Dr Kathryn Waddington‘s Gossip, Organization and Work: A Research Overview, to illustrate gossip’s role in promoting psychologically safe ‘speak up’ cultures in the workplace, and creating new pathways to knowledge.

Dr Kathryn Waddington, Emerita Fellow in Psychology, University of Westminster