Understanding Disclosure of Health Information to Workplace Friends

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to learn about the process of disclosing health information to a coworker friend using the lens of Communication Privacy Management Theory. The study explores emerging themes regarding health information disclosure and predicts associations between privacy, social support, risk, stigma, and the willingness to disclose health information to a friend at work. Employees were asked to recall a time they shared health information with a coworker friend and report about the interaction via open-ended items and scales on a survey. The study found that as emotional support, instrumental support, perceived risk, and stigma of the information increased, so did the tendency to disclose to a coworker friend. Increased privacy of the information was associated with a decrease in the tendency to disclose. A thematic analysis of the open-ended results also revealed that employees shared information associated with personal on-going health problems to seek support, to relate to their coworker friends, and to maintain their friendship. The findings also indicated that employees were likely to receive social support from their coworker friends even if they were not seeking it.