Destroyed by thousands whispers

It is human nature to talk about others, to analyse and to be curious, so catching onto a destructive gossiper can be difficult. We all talk about, and hold opinions of others in the workplace. But, if ‘gossiping' finds its place in the DNA of your company, and settles down, as a ’competitor’, your culture is heading towards being toxic.

Gossiping is something you can not avoid completely. Although, for many people there is a sense of relief in not ‘being forced to' meet and greet ‘gossipers’ every day, that behaviour and culture doesn’t stay in the building. Remote gossiping is a real deal. So, no matter if your people are coming to the office, or your mode of work is hybrid or even fully remote, gossiping happens. If left ‘uncontrolled', it’s on its way to kill the ‘moral’ of your people.

How gossiping is killing your culture, and what can you do about it?

Office gossiping has 3 key toxic traits:

1. Damaging Reputations: Gossiping about coworkers is a damage to a person’s reputation and negatively impacts their standing in the office.

1. Destroying Trust: Gossiping erodes trust between coworkers, making it difficult for people to work together effectively. It easily creates toxic work environment where people are less likely to collaborate or share information with one another.

1. Decreasing Morale: Hearing negative rumours and comments about coworkers creates negative impact on employees' morale and overall job satisfaction. This can lead to increased stress levels, decreased motivation, and a general sense of unhappiness in the workplace.

What can you do about it?

Do NOT pretend it’s not happening. Understand the effects ‘gossiping’ is producing, and take measures to prevent it from becoming part of your DNA.

• Set the expectation: let it be known - gossiping is not an acceptable behaviour.

• Educate your employees: If you’re an HR or any manager, don’t take it lightly. Educate your employees on how to ‘recognise’ gossiping for what it is - a synonym for fabrication. Gossipers are master of adding small details to a statement or story to make it ‘juicy'.

• Make it a priority: if you hear gossip circling around, don’t just ignore it if it has ‘business related content’ offer REAL information to those who might be affected.

• Understand and do not underestimate the impact: Gossip has a toxic ingredient - the aim is to set people against one another.

• Know this: The root cause of gossip is almost always, without fail, envy. And, envy, can be a dangerous emotion.

• Recognise: Gossipers want to bring other people down to build themselves up.

• Support those who ‘never gossip’: Understand that people who are mentally or emotionally sound will not engage in gossiping, so do not ‘call them weird or unsocial’. They are the ambassadors of good behaviour.

• Set the example: If you are a manager refrain from gossip of any sort. Just don’t do it.

It is human nature to talk about others; we all talk about, and hold opinions of others in the workplace. But, that doesn’t mean that every opinion has its ground. Or that everyone is entitled to have one. Mean comments, and ‘juicy’ stories negatively impacts employees’ overall job satisfaction. If not addressed, this behaviour leads to increased stress levels, general unhappiness, decreased engagement and lost of trust.

Stay aware: an engaged employee is engaged precisely because trust exists. Take that away and there isn’t much to look forward to.

Learn more about effective methods against workplace gossiping here: https://beacon.by/platzer-consulting-gmbh/critical-thinking