--- description: Did you know that around 80% of office gossip is true? title: Here’s Why People Gossip So Much image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165eb2aadde5c96b/698782f2a988ca4ed06acdcf/sb10061954g-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here’s Why People Gossip So Much by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 11, 2015 4:01 AM CUT  Businessman whispering another businessman, close-up Businessman whispering another businessman, close-upGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 11, 2015 4:01 AM CUT Gossip [helps police bad behavior](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-gossip-make-us-less-selfish "undefined") in a social network and [relieves stress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-gossip-be-a-good-thing "undefined"). About 15% of office emails [are gossip](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120606111759.htm "undefined"): --- > “” --- Negative gossip is nearly 3 times as prevalent: --- > “” --- Around 80% of office gossip [is true](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-of-office-gossip-is-true "undefined"): --- > “” --- The way employees gossip about a company can predict its success or failure. Via [The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608194809/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1608194809 "undefined"): --- > “” --- Gossip that praises others [can raise the gossiper’s self esteem](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-gossiping-good-for-you "undefined"). Sharing negative feelings about a third party [can increase closeness between two people](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-complaining-about-others-a-good-way-to-mak "undefined") but be careful: people unconsciously associate you with the things you gossip about. Via [59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307474860/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217153&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0307474860 "undefined"): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/why-do-we-gossip/ "undefined")**_._** **Join over 161,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** Related posts: [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/ "undefined") [The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/ "undefined") [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/ "undefined") _Read next:_ [_How to Deal With an Office Romance_](http://time.com/3709427/office-romance/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3738964/why-people-gossip/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3738964/why-people-gossip/"},"headline":"Here’s Why People Gossip So Much","datePublished":"2015-03-11T04:01:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:16:06.320Z","description":"Did you know that around 80% of office gossip is true?","url":"https://time.com/3738964/why-people-gossip/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165eb2aadde5c96b/698782f2a988ca4ed06acdcf/sb10061954g-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt165eb2aadde5c96b/698782f2a988ca4ed06acdcf/sb10061954g-001-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"businessmen-gossip-whispering","caption":"businessmen-gossip-whispering","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3738964/why-people-gossip/","name":"Here’s Why People Gossip So Much"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Gossip Master of CollegeACB.com","description":"19 year-old Peter Frank runs the controversial CollegeACB.com, which spreads the latest and juiciest gossip on 500 college campuses","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/oIdDnAFY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2009-11-26T20:27:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oIdDnAFY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3738964/why-people-gossip/","duration":"PT3M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3738964/why-people-gossip/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```