Silencing office gossip

When co-workers thought Sarah was having an affair with a married colleague they were wrong - but that didn't stop the rumour-mill.

"People began making sly references to it in internal meetings and I was treated with less respect," she says.

Eventually, Sarah's boss called her and the other colleague into his office and demanded that they "sort it out" - only there was nothing to sort out.

"We felt so humiliated and it was worse for my colleague because he hated people thinking he was cheating on his wife," says Sarah. Despite convincing their boss the gossip was unfounded, Sarah became depressed about the incident and later resigned.

Few people escape being gossiped about, with most getting their first taste in childhood. Nor is gossip new. Warnings go back to the Bible, where gossips are variously described as talebearers, back-biters, and whisperers.

Those unlucky enough to have been the targets of malicious adult gossip in the workplace know its potentially disastrous effects - broken trust, suspicious "redundancies", demotions, resignations, psychological distress and, occasionally, legal proceedings for slander.

So why do people gossip, and more importantly, why do others listen and repeat it? Is it simple human meanness or are there underlying causes that can be addressed?

Jim Huse, director of workplace psychology consultants Huse Hill Associates, says gossip can be symptomatic of a dominating, hierarchical work environment or the result of lack of understanding between individuals. However, while Sarah's story is disturbing, Huse says people rarely gossip maliciously for the sake of it.

As for why people repeat gossip, Huse says an idea is usually floated by one person then planted and repeated as others moot it. "Eventually, the idea is handed down far enough to be accepted as reality. Newcomers pick up the collective view and quickly align their thinking to the gossip," he says.

Huse says while individuals should be able to work through gossip issues with their employer, too many organisations put profit before people - with the result that profit is negatively affected anyway.

"Conversely, we have gone into organisations and implemented programmes to help people to understand each other and seen 200 and even 400 per cent increases in sales turnover and profitability. One organisation complained they couldn't cope with the sudden demand in orders."

He says gossip thrives in hierarchical, dominating work environments where there is a pecking order between individuals or managers and the responsibilities of each role are not clearly defined. Individuals may gossip about the way the organisation is run, about its management, or about each other in a bid to survive and climb the ladder.

So how can organisations create a work environment in which gossiping is made difficult or is ineffective?

Huse says employers need programmes and strategies that develop a business culture that values and understands its people and encourages mutual understanding between them. And such strategies need to be local.

"The New Zealand arm of multi-national corporations are often under-resourced and not fostering understanding at home," says Huse.

But is gossip always caused by misunderstandings between individuals or problematic work environments? Aren't some people just irredeemable gossips?

Huse says it's true no amount of mutual understanding will stop some people taking a dislike to each other through differences in religion, looks, or social status.

"But it is much easier for a victim of this sort of gossip to confront or ignore it if they know they have the support of the organisation behind them."

What to do about gossip

* If you are an employer, consider whether elements of your organisational culture are contributing to a gossip problem.

For example, is there a lack of adequate feedback and appraisal; job descriptions with overlapping areas of accountability; lack of internal resources or inefficient business systems; low tolerance for mistakes; a tendency to pass on blame, or to put profit before people?

* For employees, know your own position. Understand the way you work and what you consider your job responsibilities to be. If gossip is affecting you or the organisation, alert your employer and explain the problem.

* If your employer is dismissive, use articles such as this to persuade them to act.

* If your employer won't act, you can attempt to deal with gossip yourself. Some people call a meeting with the worst offenders and try to determine the cause of the gossip.