How to Handle Gossip in the Workplace by Getting to the Root of the Problem
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What’s the hot goss, boss? That’s what you don’t want to hear people in your office asking. Unfortunately, gossiping in the workplace is all too common of an occurrence and is often a hallmark of a toxic culture. There are a few reasons for gossiping in the workplace: we’re here to help you understand the ‘why’ and possible next steps to discourage gossip.
Why do we gossip at work?
A study by Burland and Pelled examines the positive and negative powers behind workplace gossip. At the end of the day, it can be distilled down into the importance of reputation and advancing your career.
People may entertain negative gossip because they fear if they don’t then the person gossiping may gossip about them. This could negatively impact their reputation or career.
If gossip comes from someone higher up, people may fear punishment if they do not entertain their gossip.
People may entertain positive gossip on the chance that the person gossiping may in the future spread positive gossip about them, which could have a positive influence on their career or reputation.
Gossip may also be a good way to learn and develop a knowledge base on the people you work with. Their values, who they are as people, and personal details they wouldn’t share with you otherwise, which could come in handy for networking.
How do you handle gossip in the workplace?
Introduce a gossip policy: A gossip policy should include a definition of gossip, the effects gossip can have, and the consequences of gossiping in the office. Having a gossip policy is a popular remedy, although it doesn’t address the root cause of gossip. A policy may be a good place to start to demonstrate that it’s not acceptable but should be followed up by cultural changes.
Start with managers: Managers have a lot of power when they gossip, so you want to start with making sure any managers or team leads are not participating in gossip and are there to shut down any gossip they hear.
Hire for cultural fit: Aside from skills and experience, it's important to hire people with good interpersonal skills. These people are less likely to start or participate in gossip.
How to handle the few that love to gossip
Your office may have that handful of people who always have some sort of gossip to share. They will typically be how gossip starts and spreads quickly. Here is a strategy when trying to implement your gossip-free culture:
Sit down with your whole team, to not single people out, and discuss the new policy and culture changes going forward. Make it clear that gossip is harmful and does not create the environment that you want for your people. Encourage those who hear gossip to not entertain it.
After some time, assess whether this has worked. Has there been gossip going around? It may take 1:1 meetings with the gossipers to drive the point home. Be empathetic and open to discussion when having these meetings.
If nothing changes, it may be time to bring in HR. Unfortunately, that may result in the person feeling targeted or resentful. At some point, as a leader, it may be time to consider if that person is still the right cultural fit for the company. As we mentioned earlier, going forward it is important to hire people who fit your company’s culture.
Understanding the Root Cause of Gossip
Gossip is a social currency used in situations where meaningful relationships and trust have not formed. In a space where there is no real way to connect with the people around us:
Sharing secrets makes us feel more connected and part of a group
The excitement of gossip is a way to bond with our colleagues, even at the expense of others
Repeating gossip you heard from someone else is an easy way to make conversation with someone you’re not familiar with that keeps the subject away from your life
Helps us understand other people's values and beliefs without discussing our own life
It may be a good way to bond with your leaders if they are not willing to connect with their team in a meaningful way
Addressing the Root Cause of Gossip: Building Trust
Going through all the previously mentioned steps would be a good place to start as it aims to reduce gossip and would therefore make people more receptive to trust building. Once you’ve established an office where there is significantly less gossip, you can implement strategies to build trust within your teams.
Encourage vulnerability: Encourage people to share what’s going on with them, beyond “I’m fine” or “I’m doing good”. It doesn’t have to be detailed, but hearing something like “I’m feeling stressed about this project” is a big step forward! It can stay work related too, as many people may still fear being gossiped about.
Share appreciation: A replacement for positive gossip, sharing appreciation as a team will give people a happy feeling and a reputation boost among their peers. Genuine and specific appreciation from across the whole team should be encouraged. Get together once a week or every two weeks and take a few minutes to share.
Be transparent: Sometimes there’s no need to keep things going on in the company a secret between managers. By being transparent and sharing things with your team, you prevent that piece of information from becoming gossip. If it does need to be kept under wraps, ensure you have managers that can do so.
Break down silos: A lot of the time, departments run independently from each other, and don’t really mingle. Make sure that all your departments are up to date on any important matters going on in other departments. If you hold team building or company events, ensure that socialization is across departments instead of just within teams.
The goal of these strategies is to create an open and transparent workplace, where enough information is shared across the board where it can no longer be leveraged as gossip. It also connects people in a more meaningful and positive way, so that they can build trusting relationships that people hopefully do not want to gossip about each other. In the long run, you want to see your gossip policy gather dust and be unnecessary within the culture of trust that you’ve built.
