Gossip can be harmful, but it can also be used to make under productive workers pull their weight. Picture: File
Source: Supplied

WHEN it comes to office gossip, there's the good, the bad and the downright nasty - and then there's knowing how to use that information to get ahead.

And while being on the end of the negative gossip can ultimately do more harm than good it can also have positive effects including making the office slacker pull their weight.

In a recent blog, US author, research psychologist and gender scholar Dr Peggy Drexlera argues when it comes to sharing details around the water cooler, "office gossip is a form of reputational warfare, a hostile endeavour undertaken by those trying to advance their own interests".

She also writes it can be damaging to a career and is often difficult to prove and punish, which means that many guilty culprits get away with it - at least in the short-term.

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But for those thinking it's the end of a good office natter, fear not as recent research has shown office gossip can actually get you ahead in your career but only if used properly.

And if scientists are happy with the finding, it must be true.

According to a team of Dutch psychologists who published their findings in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, gossip can be used to isolate those not pulling their weight, making for a more productive workplace.

The team found even the risk of being the subject of negative gossip made under performers contribute.

Lead author Dr Bianca Beersma, of Amsterdam University, which carried out the research, said gossip was a powerful tool which could be used to control self-serving behaviour in groups and may even be essential for groups' survival.

After asking 220 students on the last time they gossiped behind someone's back they found the biggest motive was gathering or checking facts.

A second follow up study asked the same group if they would gossip about someone not pulling their weight to a colleague or friend, with the former winning out.