What is Workplace Gossip ?
‘Workplace Gossip’ refers to the gossip or informal communication between employees that is negatively focussed on other employees’ lives. It is considered to be negative since it can give rise to rumors, false accusations and even lead to cold war between the employees which is detrimental to the wellbeing of any organization’s culture.
There are multiple negative effects of workplace goissipping. 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 gossipping is to form clear company policies regarding gossipping 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.