Why gossip kills company culture
I was talking to some entrepreneurs last night, and we discussed issues surrounding what is a killer in an office or for an company as a whole.
There are millions of articles on leadership, and equally as many on millennials and their sense of entitlement. Funnily enough the word gossip comes up quite a bit in many of these articles around employee dissatisfaction. If one employee shares a dissatisfaction, and shares it, then others start thinking about what they feel, and rather than focus on the positive, if they have stuff going on in their lives or may have had a request for something declined in the office, they too start to think.
There are millions of articles on leadership, and equally as many on millennials and their sense of entitlement. Funnily enough the word gossip comes up quite a bit in many of these articles around employee dissatisfaction. If one employee shares a dissatisfaction, and shares it, then others start thinking about what they feel, and rather than focus on the positive, if they have stuff going on in their lives or may have had a request for something declined in the office, they too start to think.
Once you have two people on board, it's a rallying of the troups. Who is your inner circle at work? Who are the people you are closest too or socialise with. The festering of gossip turns nasty and only until someone with maturity that has seen it all pulls everyone up, does it in fact gain some perspective.
In offices, you want everyone to be friends and laugh every day they are at work. For our offices, this is the case. The negative in that some say is that all you need is one bag egg to spoil the pot, and that positivity may diminish within a day. Easily, particularly with millennials, they forget the good stuff and start focusing on what they feel entitled to and it has given millennials a bad name. However, while this may be 'tagged' to millennials, it also is a societal issue. How are we bringing up our children? Have we taught them right from wrong? Is psychology a lesson that should be taught in every University degree so that millennials can look at both sides on the coin, not just one.
According to research, it is important if you want to ever be a manager or a leader that you steer away from the office gossip and are not taken in by them. Every office has one unfortunately and they seem to know everything that's happening with everyone else in the office - management and staff.
The gossip tells everyone the juicy details (true or not - or simply a version of events that they have convinced themselves to be true), and in turn win friends along the way.
As intriguing as this person's information, opinions and insights may be, it's a liability for the office and for you.
If you are looking for a promotion or to be seen as leadership material, you cannot be associated with office gossip or sharing negative infomration with colleagues, spiralling a sense of 'all in one'. This type of person will never be a leader - and you can see why.
A gossip in the office, in an effort to connect with people, shares their thoughts and opinions on people in the office whether it's a colleague or management. Since you both know the same person, the gossip automatically assumes you agree with what they are saying.
When gossips are extreme, it's often because at the same underlying level they don't feel like they are receiving enough attention.
Politely decline getting into a conversation about anyone in the office or management, as the office gossip wants you to join them in playing the victim. See your careers and office for what it is. Do you laugh in the office? Do you enjoy working with colleagues? Is your work interesting and challenging? Are you given opportunities? Is there are future for you to learn and grow? Don't let office gossip ruin your career prospects.
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comments ( 3 )
Norberto
09 Feb 2017Fortunately I am actually practically ϲarried out аnd the youngster is increasing!
ReplySean Carville
02 Jan 2017I completely agree. I try to practice this in my personal life also, never having time for gossip about family or friends. It is incredibly counter-productive in all areas of life.
ReplyIt is much easier to dismiss family and friends when they make an attempt to gossip about someone else, due to the lack of professionalism in such relationships.
However, I never really thought about dealing with gossip in a professional environment until reading this piece. I realise that in the past I have simply smiled and given a slight nod, or slightly agreed with the individual, but not willing to engage further, although not being dismissive of the behaviour for fear of becoming an outcast.
Being a millennial myself, this is certainly something I will take on board for further consideration on how to deal with such situations in the workplace. This was certainly an informative read.
Zaya
23 Nov 2016This is an insightful look into a relevant issue, one that has been around for a long time. I believe within any workplace it's quite easy to get caught up in the office gossip, especially when you are the newcomer, whether it's the need to 'fit in' or become part of the team. People forget to focus on the positive and evaluate for themselves the environment and its opportunities that are before them. I, myself have been guilty of this, but with mistakes comes experience. Thank you for the article, it was an interesting read.
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