Participating in workplace gossip can have serious negative consequences for your company and career. In addition to the harm caused to others, it can damage your own reputation, undermine your credibility, and even lead to disciplinary action. Learn more about the potential pitfalls of workplace gossip and how to avoid them.
Carly, a human resources manager for a midsize agency, starts the morning with her usual Starbucks venti mocha latte and a phone call to Jessica, a colleague who works reception at the same company. The pair discuss interesting new client projects, which leads to talking about who will head each one. They get to the topic of project team members, and how Stephan, a self-defined visionary and dreamer may struggle with contributing in a more technical capacity. Carly asks Jessica if she knows Stephan's wife has filed for divorce and, by the end of what started as a seemingly innocuous conversation, the two women have waged all-out war on the entire office, by the use of their tongues.
Setting aside the fact that a colleague's personal business and private life is not an appropriate topic for any workplace since no one overheard the conversation, nobody gets hurt, right? Actually, it's really not quite as simple as that.
Is All Gossip Bad?
While the word "gossip" didn't always have a negative connotation, its meaning did devolve relatively quickly. Simply put, gossip doesn't have a particularly positive track record. Rooted in the Old English term, godsibb, recorded around 1014, the word meant “a child’s godparent or sponsor at a baptism.” Following spelling changes, gossip came to mean “a good friend, usually a woman.” But, by the 1500s, the word was mostly used for “idle chatter and rumor.”
So, before you add it to your present-day vocabulary, let's look first at the current definitions, related words, and their meanings.
1 a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others
2 a: rumor or report of an intimate nature, b: chatty talk
Here are a few less common words and phrases that have been used to describe gossip:
Gossipmonger - first used in the 1800s to describe "a person who trades in gossip and rumors"
Tittle-Tattle - an early word from the 1500s used for "gossip or foolish chatter"
Busybody - first used in the 1500s to describe “a meddlesome, prying person, who inserts themselves into other people’s affairs”
Twaddle Basket - the 1600s version of "a gossipmonger"
Clatter - an old Scots term meaning, “to gossip or chatter on”
Bavardage - an 1800s French word meaning “idle talk” (rooted in the word bave, which means “drivel”)
Gossip Influencers
The first famous gossip writer appeared in 1929 as a columnist in the New York Daily Mirror newspaper. Walter Winchell, known as the “most feared journalist” of the early 20th century, used a wide network of contacts to write scandalous, and often career-killing, pieces.
Kevin Kennemer, Founder of The People Group points out that "rumor mill" gossip doesn’t take place at the water cooler these days. "Employee chatter, rumors, gossip, and grapevine banter transpires at company kitchens, breakrooms, and <through> social media. Although a certain amount of communication through the grapevine is to be expected---and can be utilized as a positive tool by leadership---the vine can cross the line and hurt innocent people inside or outside your organization," says Kennemer.
According to The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Knowledge Advisor, Barbara Holland, it's everyday gossips that typically initiate unfounded rumors in the workplace, and rumormongers perpetuate them, even if they lack any foundation of truth or could potentially damage reputations or cause hurt feelings. "These behavioral shortfalls occur around us all the time to differing degrees, and few things in the workplace do more to damage employee morale and trust than corporate "grapevining" that is allowed to go unaddressed. Rumors act like the proverbial worm in the apple, slowly eating away the goodwill and respect that creates camaraderie and trust," shares Holland.
Managementstudyguide.com identifies religion, culture, and law as the primary influences on business ethics. A look at each gives us some specific guidance about the practice of workplace gossip.
What Sources of Business Ethics Say About Gossip
A Scriptural Take On Gossip
For the purposes of this article, I'll reference theNew International Version of the Bible. Themes across these scriptures include being the cause of divisive relationships, deeply damaging others for selfish reasons, and being untrustworthy.
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. (Proverbs 16:28)
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. (Proverbs 18:8)
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much. (Proverbs 20:19)
“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” (Proverbs 18:21)
For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. (2 Corinthians 12:20)
How Present Culture Impacts Social Norms
Human civilization has passed through various cultures, wherein the moral code was redrafted depending upon the epoch's characteristics. The same is true of business culture. Leaders sometimes think employee engagement can improve their organization. But according to CultureIQ, improving overall culture is a far more effective way to improve business outcomes while employee engagement is a direct result of the company culture.
What does this mean in terms of whether an organization is prone to gossip? Simply put, like will attract like. We're currently in a cultural climate that favors employees, and we're seeing that, given the opportunity, employees are more likely to choose a job that interests them and aligns with their passion and values.
Laws That Protect Against Harmful Gossip
Through the lens of law, gossip has to be quantified by its nature, type and severity of consequence to be actionable. Remember that gossip is just a half-step away from defamation, which, if proven, is legally actionable slander or libel.
A variety of laws exist that can be applied and interpreted, depending on the situation. That said, the business culture of a company can also impact the importance placed on laws within the work environment by underscoring or undermining them.
Consequences of Participation in Workplace Gossip
So, if you enjoy sharing juicy morsels or listening to gossip, what does it mean for you?
Gossip Builds Walls
Whether you gossip or just listen to it when you join in negative speech---whether it be truthful or a false rumor---it conditions your thoughts towards another. This perpetuates negative engagements with the person and will give you and your intentions away.
Gossip Destroys Trust
Often, gossipers believe they're slick when everyone knows they "whisper and smile," including those they whisper about. The end results are not good for the gossiper as they will be deemed untrustworthy, disingenuous, and negative but may not know why they are being overlooked in important discussions, passed up for promotions, or otherwise excluded and avoided.
The reverse of this is cliques, or groups using gossip to ostracize, bully, or tear someone down. The consequences of participating in workplace gossip can be far-reaching and long-lasting. Gossip can quickly spread, creating a hostile and unproductive environment. It can also lead to a breakdown in the trust between coworkers and supervisors, making it difficult or impossible to build meaningful relationships.
Negative Impact of A Toxic Work Environment
Participating in workplace gossip can lead to negative consequences, such as disciplinary action, suspension, or even termination. Gossip destroys trust and, by extension, reputations. This leads to poor employee morale and less job satisfaction. A negative work atmosphere may impact not only productivity but mental health and potentially lead to a hostile work environment that introduces legal liability.
Least Common Denominator
Some argue that gossip is human nature, a necessary part of office politics, or can even be positive. But many actions that are human nature---entitlement, rebellion, fear---wouldn't be desirable in the work environment. Why aim for the lowest common denominator?
A positive approach toward building a healthy work environment might include some or all of the following best practices:
Take personal responsibility by committing to be a good corporate citizen
Model transparent communications by not sharing personal information or discussing anyone who may be absent
Consistently maintain professional, relevant, necessary, work-related conversations
Establish and reinforce the value and importance of handling sensitive data---to the organization, its customers, and its employees
Address rumors openly and transparently; in the event of an incident, take prompt action to contain malicious gossip
Introduce mediators, if necessary
Policy Solidifies An Organization's Posture
There's a big difference between taking a formal stand against destructive behaviors and just giving them superficial lip service. If your company policies tolerate gossiping, or the culture itself encourages office gossip, unfortunately, you are part of an organization positioned squarely at the intersection of continual conflict and churn. Ultimately, an environment rife with conflict or anxiety will cause good employees to look for better conditions elsewhere.
BrightHR suggests one action you can take is to set up a gossip in the workplace policy—and include it in the company handbook. Some companies have corporate citizenship policies that employees must reaffirm commitment to, by signature, annually.
Negative work culture is hard to turn around, mostly because it has to be implemented top-down. Bottom-up efforts may influence temporary change, but they can't correct contradictory core beliefs, policies, and practices. Officially or unofficially, whatever the core organization believes, practices or imposes when necessary is the least common denominator---whether that's fairness, generosity, and employee trust or ladder-climbing, obfuscation, and nepotism.
Key Takeaways
In many countries, the term "gossip" has a lengthy history of connotation with negativity and ill will.
Gossip became a vocation in 1929 when Walter Winchell began writing scandalous, and often career-killing, pieces as a columnist for the New York Daily Mirror.
As the workplace has become more digital, gossip has also expanded its reach to include social media, potentially hurting innocent people inside and outside an organization.
Religion, culture, and law are the primary influences on business ethics. A look at each provides specific guidance around the practice of workplace gossip.
The impacts of workplace gossip can include building walls, perpetuating negativity, eroding trust, ruining morale, destroying reputations, contributing to a toxic work environment, and reducing productivity.
Potential consequences of participating in gossip may include filed complaints, lawsuits, write-ups, or employment termination.
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