How to Avoid Gossip in the Workplace

A negative work environment is a less productive work environment. Gossip in the workplace can create an uncomfortable atmosphere for not only the person the gossip is about, but for everyone in the workplace. Gossip can often become likened to the old childhood game of "Telephone", where one person starts the spread of information, and by the time it reaches the last person, it has evolved and changed into something entirely different. Some bits of gossip may have truth to it, while other bits of information carried on the gossip relay may be false. Either way, gossip is a hurtful means of communication and should be avoided at all cost. Read on to learn more.

Instructions:

1. Analyze the source of the gossip. Think about whom the person is and their character when considering the information they are spreading. Ask yourself why they would say what they are saying, how will they benefit from spreading the gossip? There is no real benefit that will come from gossip and its main reason is to degrade and take pleasure in negative information about another person.


2. Evaluate the information you share with co-workers. There are some things that are better left unsaid than to share it with those you only socialize with in the workplace. You may think what you are sharing is harmless to you and others, while someone else may see it as the latest scoop and start spreading it. Again, think back to the childhood game of "Telephone" and consider how your information may get twisted and changed as it gets passed along.


3. Limit your association with the office gossip. By not being associated with a person that tends to thrill from spreading gossip, you will have less the chance of being included as the original source of the gossip. Remember how easy it is to fall prey to guilt by association.


4. Let the gossip end with you. When you are given a tid-bit of gossip, do not pass it on. Gossip that receives no fuel will smolder and fizzle out before it has the chance to do any harmful damage.


5. Walk away from situations where gossip is being formulated. Again, not giving power to the source of gossip will help extinguish the spread of information that may have little truth.


6. Change the topic. A quick way to stop gossip in its track is to change the topic of discussion.


7. Confront the person that is gossiping. Ask them why they believe this information should be spread around the office and what personal gain they will derive from it. Sometimes the best defense against office gossip is to have a strong offense in not tolerating the action of gossip. Let the gossiper know you are not comfortable discussing the information they are fueling the gossip with. You can even say, "Hey, I do not like talking about other people's private business, because I sure would not like them talking about me."


8. Tell the person who is gossiping that maybe you both should go and ask the person the gossip is about to clarify the information. This is a sure way to stop gossip in its track, because most gossipers tend to cower away at that thought of confronting the person the gossip is about.


9. Remind the gossiper that workplace gossip does come with consequences that can include them being reprimanded by the higher-ups if they are found to be the source of gossip. Most workplaces have an established work environment handbook that includes discipline actions for the spread of gossip.


10. Do not gossip yourself. Lead by example. When you choose not to gossip or participate in gossip sessions, you send a clear message to others that gossiping is a negative attribute in the workplace. Also, you do not want to be part of spreading information that might be false and or hurtful about another person.