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. Workplace gossip is a form of informal communication between colleagues that focuses on the private, personal, and sensitive issues of others. Gossip is almost universally viewed as a negative process because it can introduce falsehoods, rumors and slanderous statements into the work ecosystem and cause conflicts in interpersonal relationships.
If people gossip about your working conditions, talk about what you're doing to bring about positive change. Writing policies that prohibit gossip can be complicated enough that companies prefer to focus on educating employees about the dangers of talking about their co-workers behind their backs, Hyman said. However, some workplace gossip is actually healthy, according to Rieva Lesonsky, executive director of GrowBiz Media, a media and personalized content company for small businesses. The school had a restrictive no-gossip policy that prohibited talking about a person's personal or professional life when the person or their manager was not present.
The negative consequences of workplace gossip can include loss of productivity and effectiveness, loss of trust as feelings are hurt, and the breakdown of unity as workers develop personal opinions about information spread by gossip and change their perception of people. Depending on the type of gossip and the way it is transmitted, the subject may feel anxious, unhappy, and even harassed, defamed or slandered. While gossip may seem harmless, it can be quite destructive—especially to the person acting as your unwitting target. Companies that cannot demonstrate that proactive policies exist to combat gossip may find themselves in a weaker position if an associated case goes to court.
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. 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. Corporate email can be a particularly dangerous method of spreading gossip because messages can easily be forwarded to unwanted recipients. It's inevitable that your employees will gossip from time to time, but it's important to address pervasive and harmful gossip in the workplace.
TLK Healthcare, a healthcare hiring company based in Austin, Texas, includes employees who gossip with the boss with no intention of offering a solution or talking to co-workers about a problem. If you've noticed several instances of harmful gossip in the workplace, you might want to talk to the whole team.
