by Francesca Morosi

Created on: November 11, 2008   Last Updated: December 08, 2008

"Do you know about Tim and Sarah?", "I must tell what I heard about poor Jane..."

Very few workplaces haven't yet been contaiminated by its plague. Falling in the trap of office gossip is all too easy, even for people who are not the direct perpetrator, but just naive enough to listen.

Not all gossip is malicious and some is in fact relatively benign: anyone enjoys a good banter and innocent gossip can usually strenghten co-workers bond by creating a certain sense of comradeship.

Unfortunately the typical gossip is purely destructive, can easily go out of control and its effects can be devasting, not only on the victim but on the entire work environment. Telltale can hugely affect worker's morale and turn unexpected risks on complaisant management.

Samuel Greenhard in his article "Gossip Poisons Business: HR Can Stop It", writes some lucid words: "When the gossip mill begins to grind people up and ruin their reputations, there is both cause for concern and a real need for the human resources professional to step in. When left to fester, gossip can not only cause deep personal pain but also lead to turnover, conflict, and lawsuits".

GOSSIP AND ITS CAUSES

Office gossip is generally about alleged dating between management and employees, or who's is going to get fired, promoted or moved down the corporate ladder.

No matter what the excuse is (romance, illness, promotion, cheating?), gossip is always designed to slander or defame an individual, often for personal or political gratification.

Susan Dunn, expert author on management and marketing coach writes: "Particularly malicious gossip is used for personal or political gain within the organization. Any form can open management up to significant liability because employees who perceive themselves in a hostile environment can go on to assume they're being discriminated against".

Gossip often thrives on rivalry and boredom - "an idle mind is the devil's workshop"- or it can be encouraged by a frustrating lack of information about company events.

Annette Simmons, president of Group Process Consulting and author of "A Safe Place for Dangerous Truths: Using Dialogue to Overcome Fear and Distrust at Work (Amacom,1999)" writes that "when people aren't fully engaged in work, it creates a vacuum. And when they don't know what's going on, especially regarding promotions and layoffs, they begin to speculate". She also notes that men often use gossip as a form of political control, while women employ it to make themselves look and feel

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