You may have heard rumors about changes in the organization. Unless you hear something directly from me, please ignore them. Otherwise, you may be seriously misled.Contending with gossipy employees may not seem like a management issue, but it is. Gossip can create an environment of insecurity, sever professional relationships, and foster negativity. It can even create confusion over work issues. So you need to address gossip at the source. Here are some ways to do it.
Take a moment in a meeting, write a group e-mail, or do both in which you outline the negative effects of gossip mongering:
You may have heard rumors about changes in the organization. Unless you hear something directly from me, please ignore them. Otherwise, you may be seriously misled.
Spreading rumors about people is destructive and lacks integrity. So don’t do it.
If you hear rumors about people, ignore them. If you hear someone insulting someone else, insist that the person stop.
Beware of rumors about promotions. Unless you hear directly from me, they’re pure conjecture.
Remember the old saying "Loose lips sink ships"? Well, that applies to rumors too.
Address rumors immediately—in e-mails or meetings, whichever is fastest:
We have not announced changes in positions yet.
You have been receiving inaccurate information about our profits—the year-end reports aren’t even in yet.
Our CEO has not resigned—and no one has suggested that she will.
If the company were planning to have layoffs, I would be the first to know, and you would be the second.
Unless information comes from a credible source, don’t believe it.
The more information employees have from you, the less power workplace gossip will have:
When we have information, we will notify your manager, who will notify you.
Please check the intranet regularly for updates. You will be the first to receive them.
We expect the board to announce its decisions on Friday. We will notify our employees before contacting the media.
Please look on the portal every day. We will post all information about our unit there before the rest of the organization learns it.
We have a clear process for informing employees of company information. Look on the intranet if you have questions.
We will hold regular updates every Monday morning.
Quick tip: If rumors are flying, set up an alert system via meetings or e-mail by which to disseminate information quickly should real changes break. Give these messages or meetings a name or description like "Instant Updates" or "Inside Reports." Employees will learn to get information there—and ignore the rest.
Spreading rumors about individuals is unethical and mean-spirited. Please resist doing it.
Gossip is the lowest form of communication—and as professionals, we are above that.
If you hear someone gossiping or condemning another person, you owe it to your team to turn away from that gossip.
Gossip and rude comments about anyone in this organization are among the most destructive forms of communication. So don’t engage in it.
Quick tip: Be alert to mobbing—that is, when employees gang up on a coworker, manager, or other person. If this is occurring in your workplace, you will need to establish clear standards and rules of conduct to stop such mobbing in all its manifestations.