Dealing with Office Gossip: 6 Strategies to Help Employees Navigate It

Whether you work in an office full-time or spend your weeks straddling an office and home, we bet one thing about work that remains the same is this: Office gossip.

Despite the workplace changes that have evolved in the past five years, there are still folks who live for scraps of information – negative or positive – that are traded day in and day out.

Office Gossip Rarely Changes

Office gossip and the office grapevine are as old as the workplace and as difficult to manage as the people and processes in them. For managers like you, it’s one more thing to manage.

Managers aren’t only responsible for creating an environment that discourages office gossip and rumors; they’re also called on to counsel the folks who are being talked about and those who are doing the talking. Not to mention, managers don’t want to be at the root — or blooms — of office gossip.

Here are five guidelines for curbing office gossip and helping employees navigate it when it’s inevitable (because it is inevitable):

1. Stay Neutral

Remind all employees — and especially new employees — that it’s a good idea to stay neutral on issues that may come up. Employees new to the environment and the factions that may have formed lack the history to judge both motives and tactics that may be involved.

New employees sometimes make the mistake of forging alliances without first understanding the existing office dynamics. Caution new workers to be a little suspicious of folks who are overly friendly — as they may have meddling intentions. Remind them to soak in office dynamics before forming alliances.

2. Keep Yourself Off the Grapevine

Leaders don’t want to do anything that generates gossip. Or at least don’t discuss the details when you do know something. This might sound obvious, but if you want to stay off the office grapevine, don’t get drunk at the office holiday party and don’t flirt (or worse) with co-workers. Dress appropriately, respect the workplace and yourself, and leave your personal life at home.

If you’re going through a rough patch, don’t dump the bad news on your co-workers. If you’re hungover, don’t brag about your most recent binge. You work in an office, not a fraternity house or a psychotherapy session.

3. Don’t Listen to the Rumor Mill

Don’t get caught up in the rumor mill. It can be tempting to listen to tidbits of information being passed around the office. Try to resist the urge. Managers need to lead by example. The little snippets of intelligence gathered won’t be worth the image problems and disrespect you’ll face if you’re perceived as being a gossipmonger.

If those who report to you want to share gossip or tell you a rumor, chances are they may have ulterior motives – to scuttle a colleague’s chances at advancement, push a particular agenda, etc.

4. Zap Rumors at the Start

Deal with rumors right away. Left unchecked, a rumor can quickly spiral out of control. It can sap energy and productivity as workers spend time speculating about things rather than getting work done.

When problems arise, talk to employees individually and, if necessary, set up a meeting between the victim and those spreading the rumor.

5. Confront Chronic Offenders

Confront chronic offenders. Some people just can’t help telling everyone everything they find out. And they need help from their managers to see their behavior for what it is – time-consuming and unacceptable.

Those who spend an inordinate amount of time gossiping should be told in clear, unambiguous terms their behavior can’t be tolerated. You’ll want to sit down with an offender and discuss the problem when it occurs. Lean into your employee handbook, which should cover proper workplace behavior.

6. Spread Good Gossip

Turns out, some office gossip is worth the words. Employees who hear and participate in positive gossip are less likely to quit, according to a study from Binghamton University. And when there’s positive workplace gossip floating around, the “expert power” increases. In other words, people feel knowledgeable and empowered to do their jobs better.

“Organizations should be aware of the impact of positive gossip because turnover can be a very important factor in dictating an organization’s success,” said Jinhee Moon, a Binghamton University School of Management doctoral student who conducted the study with a team of other researchers. “To make employees participate in positive gossip, the organization should do the right things by treating their employees well, and being aware their behaviors can show they care about their employees.”

Filed under

• Talent Management