THE NURSES' FORM OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION: WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOSSIP?

Abstract Background: Gossip is important for managers to control it and to use it to create positive effects that help organizations to attain their goals. Objectives/Aim: The study utilised a descriptive model to determine how nurses use gossip as an informal communication channel in organizational communication. Method: Nurses working in 4 hospitals within a city in the eastern part of Turkey form the population of the study whereas nurses who agreed to participate in the study form the sample. Among these hospitals, two of them serve under the Ministry of Health while two serve under a university; diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services in any field are provided in each of these hospitals. The researchers developed a questionnaire for data collection after examining the literature. The approval of the ethical committees and written official permissions were obtained for the study. Data were acquired from 264 out of 420 nurses in total. Data were collected between June and September 2011. The response rate to the data collection tool was 62.8%. Subsequently, data were analyzed by frequency and percentage distribution tests with SPSS for Windows 17.0. Results: This study determined that nurses uses gossip most frequently about working conditions to share information face-to-face when they feel angry. Conclusion: The study concluded that nurses use gossip as an informal communication style in their institutions.