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Co-Rumination in the Workplace: Adjustment Trade-offs for Men and Women Who Engage in Excessive Discussions of Workplace Problems

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Abstract

Purpose

Developmental psychology research finds that when children and adolescents engage in excessive discussion of problems with friends, a phenomenon termed “co-rumination,” they experience trade-offs between negative adjustment outcomes (e.g., depression), but better friendship quality. This study examines the possibility that adults in the workplace engage in co-rumination about workplace problems, and that co-rumination, gender, and the presence of abusive supervision influence both positive and negative individual outcomes.

Design/Methodology

A sample of 147 adults ranging in age and occupation completed a questionnaire assessing co-rumination, abusive supervision, and workplace outcomes.

Findings

Results suggested that women engage in more co-rumination than men, and that abusive supervision exacerbates its negative effects for women. In contrast, for men experiencing high abusive supervision, co-rumination was associated with reduced negative effects. However, under low abusive supervision, co-rumination had no significant effect on any outcome variable for women, but was related to negative outcomes for men.

Implications

This study suggests that co-rumination is useful for understanding different types of social support in workplace contexts, and in particular, how men and women might differ in social support seeking. Co-rumination might prove useful for reconciling the somewhat mixed results regarding social support in helping individuals cope with workplace problems.

Originality/Value

This study is the first to examine co-rumination in working adults. It provides insight into how the interaction among co-rumination, gender, and exposure to stress (e.g., abusive supervision) influence both positive and negative individual outcomes.

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Correspondence to Dana L. Haggard.

Appendix

Appendix

Co-Rumination at Work Scale

  1. 1.

    When I have a problem at work, we talk to each other about it for a long time.

  2. 2.

    If I have a problem at work, we will spend our time together talking about it, no matter what else we could do instead.

  3. 3.

    When my friend has a problem, I always try really hard to keep my friend talking about it.

  4. 4.

    When I have a problem, my friend always tries to get me to tell every detail about what happened.

  5. 5.

    When we talk about a problem that I have at work we will talk about every part of the problem over and over.

  6. 6.

    When we talk about a problem that I have at work we talk a lot about the problem in order to understand why it happened.

  7. 7.

    When we talk about a problem that I have at work we talk a lot about all the different bad things that might happen because of the problem.

  8. 8.

    When we talk about a problem that I have at work, we try to figure out everything about the problem, even if there are parts that we might never understand.

  9. 9.

    When we talk about a problem that I have at work we spend a long time talking about how sad or mad I feel.

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Haggard, D.L., Robert, C. & Rose, A.J. Co-Rumination in the Workplace: Adjustment Trade-offs for Men and Women Who Engage in Excessive Discussions of Workplace Problems. J Bus Psychol 26, 27–40 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9169-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9169-2

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