Whenever you have a group of people, you will have gossip. The workplace can be a hotspot where gossip thrives. Humans have been practicing gossip for as long as we have been speaking. The dictionary defines gossip as “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that have not been confirmed as being true.” Not all office gossip is negative; sometimes, it can be valuable and have a positive impact.

According to an HBR article, up to 90 percent of conversations qualify as gossip. You are most certainly a regular rumor initiator or enabler listening without deterrence. The article also suggests that 15 percent of workplace email also qualifies as gossip. There are more communication tools in use now, so it is reasonable to assume gossip is also happening in more ways than can be managed. However, it doesn’t make sense for employees to use digital company tools for gossip since most of those tools are monitored.

The Good and Bad of Gossip

Gossip serves an important function. The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that gossip can protect others from exploitation by passing on bad behaviors to warn others. When you tell people someone is a selfish jerk, they learn to avoid them. Gossip helps us learn from other people’s experiences and, as a result, can be valuable to society. In the workplace, gossip makes it possible for team members to warn each other against those whose behaviors go against group norms.

However, when gossip goes wrong and starts to damage morale, impact productivity, and assassinate another character, managers need to be concerned. Gossip increases when there is uncertainty in the workplace or a lack of transparency. Leaders should also understand that employees will create their reality and assumptions when information is absent. Once that happens, those assumptions quickly become truth. Disputing truths that only exist in someone’s head can be extremely difficult. Managers must ensure frequent, honest, open, and factual communication to manage toxic, poisoned, and damaging gossip.

Tips for Managing Toxic Gossip

The grapevine exists regardless of the size of your company. Office gossip is alive and not going away anytime soon. But, when office gossip transitions from harmless water cooler chatter into something more ominous and toxic, managers must act. These five tips will help you effectively manage the effects of gossip on your team before it has time to do damage.

1. Be an example by not initiating or enabling gossip.

Because managers are people too, they can just as quickly get wrapped up in gossip. I’ve witnessed supervisors gossiping with and about direct reports and other leaders. When managers engage in idle gossip, especially negative, they effectively encourage their employees to do the same. Be the change your wish to see in your team. Please don’t engage in gossip; redirect it when you observe it. When your team knows you don’t tolerate gossip, they will be less likely to engage in it.

2. Rather than ignoring rumors, address them head-on.

Unless you are an absent boss, you hear rumors. At the first hint of a rumor, managers need to address it quickly. Go directly to the source to understand their key concerns. You can stop the gossip from getting out of control by addressing it head-on with correct information. The most important part of addressing gossip is to do it privately with the source. Doing so in a group setting is risky because the source will have an audience and can enlist allies. In the private meeting, explain how their behavior impacts morale and productivity. Leverage the company values to help employees see how they are acting against them. Managing office gossip involves addressing it from the start.

3. Redirect negative office gossip.

One of the best ways to manage office gossip is to redirect it by offering something positive about the target of gossip. Remember that gossip is a means to pass on information based on our bad experiences with someone. Sharing a positive experience about the target demonstrates that people change and encourages them to work past their issues. Sharing something positive about the person also disrupts the perception of a pattern of bad behavior. Additionally, when you repeatedly respond to negative comments with positive ones, the gossiper will quickly stop coming to you with office gossip.

4. Frequently talk about gossip during team meetings.

What gets talked about gets improved. This is management 101. In team meetings, managers should frequently speak about company values. Open discussions about how the values don’t support a culture of gossip signal employees that the company won’t tolerate it. Use storytelling to clearly outline gossip’s negative effect on productivity and morale. Offer solutions that give appropriate ways for employees to address their concerns. Manage office gossip by using company values and offering other ways to address employee concerns and conflicts.

5. Encourage positive gossip in the workplace.

Create a culture where employees are encouraged to bring positive stories they feel proud of. Have them bring forward project successes, client feedback, and positive stories of co-workers. Leverage social media to publicly share stories of employees going above and beyond. My team has a gratitude box where they deposit notes of thanks to their peers. On Thursdays, everyone draws a note from the gratitude box and reads it out loud. Everyone claps and gives words of praise. Because we have been doing Thankful Thursdays for so long, gratitude isn’t limited to the box. They randomly publicly and privately praise team members.

Some companies institute a zero-tolerance policy for gossip. I have no clue how they manage or enforce such a policy. After all, gossip is hearsay, which makes managing after the fact difficult. Gossipers are hard to catch. Without direct observation, it can be impossible to prove one way or another. Supervisors can’t eliminate office gossip because it is ingrained in our DNA. Supervisors can mitigate the toxic effects of office gossip through open communication and transparency.

First, be the example by not initiating or enabling gossip. Don’t ignore rumors. Instead, address them head-on. Next, redirect negative gossip by sharing positive experiences about the target. Frequently leverage the company’s core values and offer employees solutions to their concerns and conflicts. Finally, encourage positive gossip by creating a culture of sharing positive stories.

A little gossip goes a long way. You can’t eliminate office gossip. Therefore, effectively managing office gossip is critical to your team’s success. Ensure the gossip that spreads in your company is positive, uplifting, and, more importantly, creates an inclusive environment with these tips.

Last updated on August 27th, 2022 at 07:20 am