For Health and Peace of Mind

For a Healthy Work Environment it is Important to know when to Act on a Disruptive Behavior and when to let it be...

     In Susan M Heathfields article on "How to Manage Gossip at Work" she explains the existence of work gossip, how it is, more often than not, a common occurrence at most jobs. She also addresses how to recognize it, when it goes too far, and tackles the difficult decision of when to act. "Expect a certain amount of gossip; people want to know what is going on in their workplace, and they like to discuss work issues. The key is to know when the gossip is out-of-hand. You need to act if the gossip is:

• disrupting the work place and the business of work,
• hurting employees’ feelings,
• damaging interpersonal relationships, or
• injuring employee motivation and morale."

     We may make allowances here an there for those who create a negative cloud within a work environment because they are entertaining or troubled or we understand that they have little else going on in there everyday lives, but at what cost? For those destructive people who participate, who they really hurting when "They talk about the company, their coworkers, and their managers; and/or frequently take a partial truth and turn it into a whole speculative truth", as Susan puts it?     

First, tackle the things that you can control as a coworker or as a manager...

"If you find yourself having to address gossip frequently, you may want to examine your workplace to understand the consistent themes in the gossip. Consider that you may not be sharing enough information."

Make sure that you don't allow for the  behavior to spread through you. Make a personal commitment to refuse to participate in the gossip. When all is over and done a clean reputation of  carrying on with others will speak for itself. Susan notes; "If gossip has been unmanaged in the past, gossip tends to become a negative aspect of your work culture. So, don’t let negative gossip go unaddressed." 

     To address and manage gossip as an employee or manager try to encourage a more direct approach of passing information. Be positive. Understand that the person may not be aware that their behavior is destructive. Address the gossip with them and let them know that if has hurt your feelings. While this seems simple it may not be. Remember, they may not know how it is effecting you. If it is to do with someone else, let them know that you are distracted by it and that it is not beneficial to the work environment. "You can manage gossip exactly as you would manage any other negative behavior from an employee in your work place. Use a coaching approach, when possible, to help the employee improve his or her behavior. But, when needed, gossip management starts with a serious talk between the employee and the manager or supervisor. If the discussion of the negative impacts of the employee’s gossip has no effect on subsequent behavior, begin the process of progressive discipline" Give them the opportunity to curb their behavior to benefit the work place. While this may not be enough for some others will appreciate your efforts. Susan states that, "If you assertively deal with gossip, you will create a work culture and environment that does not support gossip." As much as you may not want to involve yourself, taking action on such environmental changes can only benefit work place. 

"Who gossips to you will gossip of you." --Turkish proverb