by R.L Hanlon

Created on: November 10, 2008   Last Updated: December 08, 2008

Love it or loath it, office gossip is a universal phenomenon that affects all workplaces from the top to the bottom. Office gossip is something that has been tolerated by employers and managers for a long time, more often than not many have participated in it.

But office gossip is now being recognized as an occupational hazard for many businesses. Supervisors, managers and Human Resource departments find themselves exerting too much effort dealing with rumor and innuendo within the company ranks. Whether it's hurting individuals, or is destructive to company image and morale, office gossip needs to be addressed by management.

In an environment where there are a number of different personalities, including the needy, the ego-driven and the neurotic combined with a business that may lack effective communication, office gossip will exist because it's a normal human behavior.

WHAT IS GOSSIP?

Gossip can me malicious rumor and discussion about another individual or it can be information that is related to policy and change within a company. There are two types of gossip, constructive and destructive gossip.

~Constructive gossip

Constructive gossip can be an effective communication tool within a business. Information about pending promotions, possible merges and information about competitor's movements can prove to be positive for someone "in the loop".

~Destructive gossip tends to be the kind of gossip aimed at an individual and their personal lives. This gossip can result in hurt feelings, erodes trust and morale and can often lead to insinuations of slander. Destructive gossip hurts ones credibility amongst co-workers, creates mistrust and if directed about company policy and decisions, can seriously injure

A survey by the American Training and Development conducted in 1994, found that one in five employees participated in workplace Gossip and that 64 per cent admitted they gossiped at work "sometimes". We can only imagine with the increase in social network sites and inter-company email how much this figure has grown in recent times.

WORK ENVIRONMENTS WHERE GOSSIP FLOURISHES

Although gossip is rife across many industries, there are particular environments where it tends to flourish.

~Where there is a lack of trust amongst management and employees.

~Where communication amongst management and employees is poor.

~Where the management holds little credibility amongst employees.

~Where employees are bored and have little to do.

~In high tensioned workplaces where management and employees

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