What to Do About Gossip in The Office
There’s nothing worse than gossip in the workplace. Having a habitual gossip in the office affects everyone in several different ways. First, there is the annoying spsss, spsss, spsss of the constant whispering. That in and of itself is enough to distract you from your work. But, the worst part is having to pick up the slack of the person who would rather run their mouth than do actual work.
If you are having trouble dealing with a gossip in your workplace, read below to learn how to handle the situation.
The first thing to do is approach the person directly, but be sure to do so in a non-confrontational way. Make sure not to do it when you are upset. Be friendly when you approach the person. Start the conversation in a way that assumes you’re worried about him or her. Say something like, “I’ve noticed you’ve been a little distracted lately and was wondering if everything is okay.” The person should then inquire about your comment, mostly by denying that anything is wrong. He or she might say something along the lines that they are swamped with their workload. Now is the time to mention any slack that you’ve been picking up for them. Let them know that you’ve been picking up their extra work and that it’s really starting to affect the quality of your work. Tell him or her that you suspect something is going on with them since they’re spending so much time talking rather than working. Gently let them know that you hope they work it out soon, because you can’t keep picking up their slack.
By taking the approach of showing concern for the other employee, there is less chance of a confrontation. Your co-worker will still get the point that they’ve been caught and will make a point to at least cut down on the gossip if not stop entirely.
The fact is, most gossips who sit around whispering all day assume no one is the wiser because most people never speak up about it. They think that because they are whispering, they aren’t bothering other people. Once they’ve been called out on it, they become embarrassed and make a point not to do it any more. Let’s face it, no one wants to be a gossip.
If approaching the person directly doesn’t work to your satisfaction, or you are not comfortable taking that route, the next best way is to address to the company as a whole. For instance, almost every company holds a weekly staff meeting. In every staff meeting, the leader addresses key issues, and performance in the office. That is the perfect time and venue to address your concern. However, you must not name drop. Be sure to address it universally. Simply state that you notice a lot of down time and gossip going on in the office. If you’ve been picking up slack, say something like, “If others are experiencing a lot of down time, I would appreciate the help with my workload.” or you could come right out and say, “I’ve been picking up a lot of extra work and it’s starting to affect the quality of my work.” You’ll get less flack from your co-workers with line one, but you’ll get even more brownie points with your boss with line number two.
Using this method is a good idea when wishing to avoid direct contact with any one. However, it also throws perfectly innocent co-workers under the bus as well. By doing it this way, you are involving the boss and without name dropping, your boss can only guess who it is, or assume that it’s the majority.
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