Workplace gossip is informal interaction or communication that is not related to work activities between co-workers. Instead, it usually focuses on personal, private or confidential information. But not all gossip has to be bad. For example, let's suppose that gossip becomes harsh and becomes intimidating or neglects the person being talked about.
While no business can exist without communication, communication (in the casual sense) can sometimes be perceived as gossip. Corporate email can be a particularly dangerous method of spreading gossip because messages can easily be forwarded to unwanted recipients. Grosser, López-Kidwell and Labianca talk about the fact that gossip is a necessity in the collective work of the offices of large organizations. Consider the above strategies so that when faced with a gossipy coworker, you know how to respond.
For some, it refers only to malicious or actionable conversations about someone beyond what the person can hear; some believe that gossip only includes false stories, while others think it may include truthful comments. Depending on the type of gossip and the way it is transmitted, the subject may feel anxious, unhappy, and even harassed, defamed or slandered. To begin with, gossiping allows office workers to free themselves from the stress of their daily routines and personal difficulties. If you've noticed several instances of harmful gossip in the workplace, you might want to talk to the whole team.
In addition, negative gossip can serve as a beneficial warning about potentially dangerous people, for example, informing a new co-worker about the boss's destructive behaviors and preventing a new employee from getting involved in problematic circumstances. According to Greengard and Samuel (200), the type and severity of gossip has worsened in today's spiteful society. Disseminating stories about a co-worker's sex life, criminal history, alleged violations of company policies, or medical problems are examples of harmful gossip in the workplace. In addition, if an employee engages in gossip that creates a hostile work environment, the employer may fire him to put an end to the problem of the hostile work environment.
Now that you know the negative impact that office gossip can have on your employees and your company, you're probably wondering how best to mitigate different types of gossip. There are several other perceived negative influences of workplace gossip on employees and on organizational civic behavior in the workplace.
