Team leaders and supervisors have many job tasks, and an important one is the culture and atmosphere of the workplace. One thing that can quickly impact the overall morale and productivity of a work environment is negative gossip.

Office gossip may start off as an innocent conversation, but no matter the intention, gossip can result in employee conflict, poor office atmosphere and lack of productivity.

Here are some tips for reducing negative office gossip.

Respect Your Neighbour

Remind employees of the importance of respecting colleagues and the organization.  To help them understand the impact of gossip in  in the workplace share scenarios and discuss the result of the gossip on the individual, team, organization and possibly the community. You may ask employees to share their own stories of being on the receiving end of gossip or the effect of a child being bullied at school by another child.  P.S. Teachers also fall pray to bullying by parents.

Regular Communication

Open communication and accessibility to staff helps minimize gossip.  I tell supervisors communicate, communicate, communicate.

I think Michael Kerr, writer of Inspiring Workplaces says it best in a YouTube presentation  “I have never heard someone (at work) say ‘I am too informed’.”  The sooner supervisors and leaders communicate about activities, events, and happenings, the less chance there is for gossip to start.  During impactful events make management should make itself available for questions and comments while remaining as transparent as possible.

Address Key Gossipers

For workplace gossip to stop, you need to halt the source of the gossip and hold both the initiator and followers accountable.  Firstly inform team members it is unacceptable to gossip.   I encourage establishing a team charter including communication guidelines.  These guidelines clearly outline how the team communicates with one another including what is expected and what won’t be tolerated.  Naturally, gossip falls into the “not tolerated” category.  When staff gossip, consequences must be imposed, or nothing will change.  

Team Meetings

Encourage discussion at team meetings on the impact of gossip on individuals, teams, and organizations. Don’t forget to promote positivity, direct conversations, and team well-being.  

Also,  give staff time to practise communication skills, so they feel more confident when difficult conversations need to happen and are therefore less likely to resort to gossip.

Open Door Policy

Make sure your employees know that you are available to meet one-on-one when they want to speak with you.  When an employee is challenged by a fellow staff, organizational practises, or you remain open and encouraging.  Avoid becoming defensive (which will have them leaving and resorting to gossip once more).  Instead, Think BIG – B = take a breath, I = it’s the staff and his needs, and G =  Get curious by asking questions, so you fully understand his concern.  This approach opens the door to a respectful conversation where staff are free to express their opinion in a productive way.   

Lead by Example

As a leader, you role model the behaviour you want to see in your staff.  I tell leaders, staff are watching you more closely than they are listening to you.  So, if you want employees to discuss their concerns directly with one another and not gossip, then you must do the same.  If you want staff to feel safe coming and speaking with you about their concerns, then you must remain open and nonjudgmental.  If you want your employees to respect one another and communicate effectively, then you must show them what respect looks like and be an active listener and clearly deliver your messages.  Whatever outcome you want starts with you.

The hard work is worth it when you have employees addressing concerns directly and respectfully, teams working collaboratively to deliver quality service, staff sharing their thoughts and ideas with leadership,  and an organization of enthusiastic, energetic and motivated employees.

Would you like more information about building solid teams?  Join me for a free webinar May 3 as I share tips on creating a High-Performance Team- What Every Team Leader Needs To Have In Place For Their Dream Team To Emerge.