We develop and test a model of gossip during organizational change by focusing on employees’ change-related anxiety and its effects on gossip and important individual and group-oriented behaviors. An exploratory study with 15 interviews in a multinational organization undergoing change revealed that employees engage in gossip as a reaction to felt anxiety. A critical incidents study (Study 1, N = 115) in the same organization confirmed that gossip results from change-related anxiety and, in turn, increases resistance to change. Study 2 (N = 100) replicated these results with a sample of employees from different organizations. Study 3 (N = 408) confirmed causality with experimental data and extended the behavioral outcome measures to group-oriented activism. We discuss the implications of our findings for practice and research on workplace gossip in times of change and its effects on both the individual and the group.
