Rumor can be harmful, hurting people’s feelings and creating tension in the workplace. However, if you understand what causes rumors to grow and spread, you can take steps to help mitigate them and stop them from spiraling out of control.

Rumors can come from anywhere, and they can be about anything – work-related or not. They can start around the watercooler or through Slack, and a casual conversation can quickly turn into hushed tones and gossip. Rumors are often not true and can be misleading, but they can make people feel anxious or guilty for believing them. They also can cause mistrust and create a negative culture in an organization.

When a rumor is spreading, there are several factors that contribute to its ability to spread, including a desire by many people to see it succeed. This desire can be due to envy, jealousy or even a general dislike for the target of the rumor. Rumors that satisfy this desire are more likely to catch on, especially if they spread across tightly connected communities.

The rumor also needs to be plausible in order to have any chance of success. If you tell a rumor that someone was attacked by a bear, most people will be likely to believe it. If you tell a rumor about a celebrity being arrested, people will probably believe it as well. Rumors that are not believable will not be passed on and won’t have the same impact.

Another factor that makes a rumor go viral is how familiar it is to people. This is a result of the primacy symbol effect, which posits that the first person to hear something is the most credible source. It is also a result of the familiarity and novelty dimensions, which suggest that people are more likely to share something that is both old (because it sounds like an established truth) but new (because it has a sense of urgency or surprise).

If the rumor is about a person, they need to be interested in it to be motivated to spread it. People are more likely to be interested in a rumor about a celebrity they care about, for example. They are also more interested in a rumor that is related to their own life, such as a rumor about a friend or family member.

One way to prevent a rumor from becoming a problem is to set the result macau record straight, as much as you can. This can be done by addressing employee questions honestly and by cultivating open lines of communication. Effective leaders can answer these questions and address concerns head on, bringing relief to employees who are anxious about the rumors they are hearing.

While the information environment has changed significantly since black-and-white television and party-line telephone calls, scholarship on rumor has remained relevant in the digital era as people seek to make sense of emerging, ambiguous or evolving information. Understanding these drivers can support empathetic interventions designed to support organizational resiliency and recovery.