When employees gossip, they may be discussing confidential information about the workplace. This can happen when workers don't trust management to share details about the problem. Workers may also gossip about a rude encounter with management or another colleague. 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. Employee gossip about other employees can constitute harassment and intimidation, creating a toxic work environment. Even if a gossip-free employment policy is not zero-tolerance, a formal statement against workplace gossip can help reduce the chances of employees engaging in it and, if they do, they can expect the employer to take action. That means dealing with someone who is a stalker, and that could include disciplinary measures, separating the subject from gossip, or even expulsion from the workplace.
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. If this seemingly harmless type of informal conversation is not effectively monitored and addressed, it could have serious effects in the workplace. Workplace gossip can be included in this definition, meaning that the employer is legally required to take steps to protect workers from it. When employees gossip, this can cause a lot of harm, so it's essential that management and human resources avoid the development of a toxic workplace.
Health and safety legislation requires employers to provide a safe workplace for employees, and that includes protection against harassment and intimidation. Most office gossip relates to work issues involving colleagues, management teams, employers, and customers. Negative gossip in the workplace causes social weakening and major side effects for employees, some of them mentioned above. For example, Peter Vajda, an Atlanta-based speaker and author of a paper on business coaching, defines workplace gossip as a form of violence in the workplace, and points out that it is “essentially a form of attack.” There are several other perceived negative influences of workplace gossip on employees and on organizational civic behavior in the workplace.
This indicates that arousing the compassion of co-workers through gossip can be beneficial in the workplace, since it promotes trust and affection among co-workers. Consequently, it's reasonable to assume that a good employer will encourage positive workplace gossip to have more productive employees. 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. Human development expert Peter Vajda identifies workplace gossip as a form of violence in the workplace because it is an “attack” against another person, even if they are passive-aggressive.
