While gossip isn’t always a bad thing, it can be incredibly harmful not only for you, but also others may be affected. Finding ways to control your own tendency to gossip is a good idea, as is refraining from spreading it to others. So, how to avoid work gossip?
- Find An Outlet at Home
- Redirect Your Attention
- Separate the Personal and Professional
- Be Transparent
Please read on for more detailed information.
Table of Contents
How to Avoid Work Gossip?
Here are a few actions you can take to respectfully and constructively prevent office gossip.
Find An Outlet at Home
Find a home outlet to express your thoughts and feelings to prevent misunderstandings and office gossip. You can gain perspective before going back to the office by making a safe space at home where you can unwind and process work-related stress.
The times of day when work gossip typically occurs are during breaks. For instance, if two coworkers are waiting to use the restroom, they might begin discussing their respective workdays while in line. Instead of talking to a coworker, consider these alternatives:
Journal. To write in at home, think about buying a notebook or journal. To approach your work with a clear head, write down your thoughts, emotions, or goals. You can do this to maintain your concentration and productivity throughout the working day.
Speak to a partner or a friend. Instead of sharing your experiences with a coworker, consider speaking to a friend or partner. You can lessen stress and avoid work-related distractions by doing this.
Put your focus somewhere else. If you catch yourself considering work while at home, divert your attention. To read your favorite book, prepare a meal, exercise, or indulge in your favorite hobby, for instance, think about scheduling time each night. In order to approach work the following day with clarity, this can help you unwind and have fun while you’re off the clock.
Redirect Your Attention
Focusing on something else is a great way to avoid office gossip. Try to refrain from joining in if you see your coworkers engaging in gossip. Instead, think about leaving the situation. Consider taking an early lunch break or scheduling a meeting with your manager to discuss a potential future project. To stay productive and focused, try to divert your attention to something else.
Separate the Personal and Professional
Think carefully about what you’re willing to share with coworkers in order to prevent rumors and the spread of false information. In order to work effectively, try to draw lines between your personal and professional lives. Here’s a list of work-appropriate conversation starters you can use to avoid potential gossip:
The progress you’ve made on a recent assignment
A new software program you’re learning to use
Ideas for future projects
The weather, traffic conditions or new snacks in the vending machines
Questions you have about an upcoming meeting
You can participate in casual conversation without gossiping by using topics like these. You can leave the situation or try to change the subject if normally professional conversations suddenly devolve into office rumors.
Be Transparent
Be open about your intentions and emotions at work to prevent office rumors. If you need to talk to a coworker about something, think about doing it privately so that no one can overhear you.
Competitivity is also possible in workplaces. To prevent rumors and gossip, try to be open and honest with your coworkers about your intentions.
Example:
For a Chicago-based start-up business, Tom and Teyana work as graphic designers. Who will get the job tomorrow morning depends on their competition for a promotion. Tom worries about Teyana’s response to the news.
Tom requests that Teyana and he speak alone during lunch to address these issues rather than raising them with other coworkers. They are able to express their feelings, thoughts, and worries in an open manner. Tom and Teyana had an afternoon at work that was focused and effective because they were upfront with one another from the beginning.
In this instance, Tom and Teyana have a private discussion to resolve their issue. With no help from their coworkers, they were able to resolve the problem alone thanks to this.
What Gossip Does to the Workplace
They are most likely unhappy employees who were not successful in getting their way, who objected to a change in course and are now harboring resentments, or who were not given the promotion they believed they were due.
They are quick to gossip, and even quicker to hammer leadership for “dumb decisions.” Keep a close eye on them. By enlisting others in their campaign of malicious spin, they widened their tumor.
Some negative consequences of workplace gossip include:
- trust and morale are gradually declining.
- People are less productive at work because they become emotionally involved in the drama like teenage girls. Watch for hush-hush chatter around cubicles of disgruntled employees where those infected by gossip will stop by to “get the latest,” thus wasting precious company time.
- As rumors spread and people walk on eggshells not knowing what is true and what is not, tension and anxiety are at an all-time high.
- polarization as people choose sides.
- Unanticipated turnover and loss of good talent who left because of the toxic workplace.
Steps to Getting Rid of Gossip
Implement “zero-tolerance” rules for office chit-chat. Many businesses have policies in place to prevent employees from sharing confidential information with third parties. A manager may be subject to disciplinary action or even termination if, for instance, he or she divulges private information that sparks rumors about a worker among coworkers.
Set an example. Avoid gossip and set a good example for others to follow. When the gossip starts, act assertively, leave the room, or change the subject. You are conveying to others that this behavior will not be accepted.
Let the boss know. If the rumor spreads and more people start to believe it, have the guts to tell your immediate boss. The issue should now be addressed by management in a way that strengthens and promotes a positive culture.
Address the perpetrators. It will take guts to do this, but confront the main offenders one-on-one in a neutral, more private room or office where others cannot overhear. The goal is not to engage in a verbal brawl, but rather to diplomatically show through concrete examples how your colleague’s actions are interfering with and disrupting work.
If you’re a manager, meet with your team. To inform your team of the consequences of gossip, bring up the subject during a staff meeting.
Encourage positive gossip. A culture where people share uplifting tales about the workplace, clients, and culture can be developed as an alternative to gossip that is unfavorable. Consider instances where coworkers and managers could exchange information about workplace accomplishments. An illustration would be when a staff member goes above and beyond to assist a customer, and management shares the story with the entire company and on social media to boost brand value. Positive rumor to start morning huddles; use storytelling to reinforce desired cultural values and key behaviors.
Ignore the gossiper. In search of attention, gossipmongers will take advantage of receptive ears. Your course of action is to be engaged in your work and kept busy (as you should be), which prevents you from being available to listen. Don’t accept it when the gossiper passes the juicy gossip baton to you (because they want to spread it by recruiting other gossipers).
Redirect the attention to the naysayer by saying something uplifting. Redirect the negative rumors by saying something enliveningly positive that you believe to be true and fair—the other side of the coin. The gossiper will be stopped in his tracks with a kind remark about the person being attacked. He might not pay you another visit.
Keep your private life private. Simply put, don’t trust anyone at work with personal information that will be used as gossip unless you are 100 percent sure that you can trust them. The telltale sign that you’re dealing with habitual liars is this: if you catch them talking bad about someone else, you can bet they’ll be talking bad about you, too. Don’t give them the means to do it.
Summary: How to Avoid Work Gossip?
Sadly, spreading rumors will eventually work against your reputation and professional goals. You’ll come off as less trustworthy, less professional, and you might even gain some enemies (because rumors circulate quickly).
Here is what to say to (politely) stop your coworker’s trash-talking the next time it happens.
- Find An Outlet at Home
- Redirect Your Attention
- Separate the Personal and Professional
- Be Transparent
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