What is Workplace Gossip?
‘Workplace Gossip’ refers to gossip or informal communication between employees that are negatively focused on other employees’ lives. It is considered to be negative since it can give rise to rumors, and false accusations and even lead to a cold war between the employees which is detrimental to the well-being of any organization’s culture.
There are multiple negative effects of workplace gossiping. Some of the most common ones are loss of productivity, victimization, loss of trust and unity, lowering of morale, attrition, etc.
An effective strategy to curb workplace gossip is to form clear company policies regarding gossip and ensure that they are followed strictly. These policies need to explicitly define what is defined as workplace gossip to ensure that there are no grey areas.
