How to Deal With Gossip in the Work Place
- 1). Ask for clarification on a point that an employee seems to hint at in a vague manner. Speak directly and ask for specific details of the topic of the discussion to convey that you are not going to take things at face value without verifying facts. For example, if an employee says, “What more can you expect of her? She’s always making a mess,” ask questions for details of the incidents that led this employee to form this opinion.
- 2). Ask the gossiper for his motivation to tell you this particular information. Listen carefully to his response, to judge if he is genuinely passing on information that he believes you should know or simply gossiping. Most gossips will fumble to explain why they said what they did.
- 3). Tell the gossiper that you intend speaking to the targeted person to clarify the matter. When they realize that their comments will reach the target with their name attached to it, most gossips will retract what they said.
- 4). Inform all your staff that you discourage gossip at the work place. Emphasize this during meetings and group discussions. Make sure your employees know what you categorize as gossip by providing them examples. Encourage staff to come to you with their grievances and have an open discussion rather than use gossip to get even with their coworkers. Set up a system in which employees remind each other to avoid gossip.
- 5). Find out if there is any truth in information that, at face value, appears to be gossip. In some cases, there may be an element of truth in what you hear and it is important to get your facts right. This is especially crucial during periods of change when gossip spreads very fast because of the insecurity that employees face. Use information from reliable sources such as official notices and bulletins to reassure employees.
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