Gossip accounts for sixty-five percent of speaking time in our daily conversations (Grosser et al., 2010). It is no surprise that gossip is a common form of communication that is highly prevalent in our social life, especially in the workplace. While gossip tends to have negative connotations, research suggests it can serve as a healthy social activity, creating unity and bringing people together. Gossip can have the power to strengthen group bonds, create stronger group identification, and foster greater interpersonal bonds (Mills, 2010). Gossip, therefore, can serve as a beneficial organizational behavior in the workplace. However, prevailing research links gossip to negative workplace outcomes, such as decreased productivity, misrepresentations about employees, or crushed morale (Mills, 2010). If gossip is seen as a destructive organizational activity, why is it so prevalent in the workplace? This question has fueled current research on workplace gossip, providing empirical evidence to broaden our understanding of the role of workplace gossip. Workplace gossip is described as a type of “narrative discourse” that exists in the “unmanaged spaces” of organizations (Michelson et al., 2010, p. 373). Gossip allows employees to express their opinions, emotions, beliefs and attitudes about work life. As a result, gossip is usually expressed in small, trusted groups, which ultimately play a significant role in maintaining relationships within the organization (Michelson et al., 2010). Social norms usually influence the acceptance of gossip as a type of organizational communication, as well as establishing expectations of who gossips to whom and about what topic (Michelson et ...... middle of paper ...... rkplace Works CitedGrosser, T.J., Lopez-Kidwell, V., & Labianca, G. (2010) A social network analysis of positive and negative gossip in organizational life and organization management, 35(2), 177-212. .10.1177/1059601109360391Kniffin, K.M., & Wilson, D.S. (2010). Evolutionary perspectives on workplace gossip: Why and how gossip can serve groups and organizational management, 35(2), 150-176:10.1177/ 1059601109360390Michelson, G. , van Iterson, A., & Waddington, K. (2010). Gossip in organizations: contexts, consequences and controversies. Management of groups and organizations, 35(4), 371-390). Experiencing gossip: Foundations for a theory of embedded organizational gossip, 35(2), 213-240. doi:10.1177/1059601109360392