Why gossip can be good for you

Gossip is good

Spending time with a limited group of people isn't just something for high schoolers, it seems, with a recent study of office workers revealing that 85 percent of office workers see cliques appearing in their workplace, too. But are co-worker friendships really a threat to office politics, or can gossip help the work environment grow and develop?

While some experts say that having close friendships in the office can have a positive influence, others say they breed gossip and exclusivity. All respondents to the recent survey agreed that there is a fine line between a group of friends and a full-on clique.

One thing remains certain: no one can emphatically say they are immune to gossip. At one time or another we have all found ourselves caught up in chatter at the water cooler or at a colleague's desk. And from family get-togethers to cocktail parties, we all find a certain pleasure in talking about other people. In its most simplest of definitions, gossip is seductive.

Take a look around, and it's fair to say that there is no end to people engaged in official and non-official gossip or rumor. But sometimes, an unintentional or casual remark can make the gossip wheel turn: the wheel gathers momentum when the listener gives credence to it, lubricates the wheel when it is repeated to others, and, in extreme cases, can develop enough impetus to tear the workplace apart.

Eavesdropping

Back at the height of the economic crisis, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) conducted a poll of 494 HR professionals. According to their findings, 23 percent of respondents said they had had to deal with an increased number of eavesdropping incidents in the 12 months since the crisis hit.

Examples of these included employees lingering outside conference rooms or near closed-doors, trying to catch wind of possible layoffs or terminations. A further 54 percent reported an increase in gossip and rumors regarding downsizing and layoffs, and about the same percentage said they had had cause to address such concerns within the last year, when the survey was conducted.

What's more, the recession poses further issues for gossip-mongers. When the recession hit, experts including Steve Williams, director of research for SHRM, suggested that the key to overcoming detrimental gossip was for organizations to ramp up their communications with employees; the theory being that the more transparent an organization becomes, the less likely gossip will be.

Conversely, however, is the argument that transparency breeds the opposite reaction. Imagine, for instance, that everybody within a struggling company is fully aware of how bad things really are and you could easily see a shift from uneasiness to outright panic.

Sure, gossip can lead to fear, but its a slightly nebulous fear: a monster under the bed. If, however, a CEO comes right out and says he's going to cut the workforce by 60 percent, the monster becomes very real, threatening everybody. Chaos could well ensue.

Culture of respect

What's more, new research, based on findings from a study about workplace politics at an urban elementary school, suggest that gossip might not always be worthy of the bad rap it usually receives. 

In fact, according to a joint-study by researchers at both Indiana University in Bloomington and Reading, Pa.-based Albright College, while gossip is never exactly a boon for the workplace, it can play an important role in workers' social lives - both inside and outside the office.

Chief researcher Tim Hallett explains: "Most people assume that gossip is negative, but people can say very positive things about others when they're not present, and in that way, gossip can be a weapon that workplaces can utilize." Rather than banning workplace gossip, says researchers, employers should emphasize a culture of respect.

The workplace is a pressure cooker

Whatever the theory, the answer is for management to be open enough so that employees understand the situation they are in, therefore easing the inevitable pull of detrimental gossiping and bad-mouthing, while at the same time employers accepting that gossip is part of daily office life. Management need to realize that it is naive to think that gossip could ever truly be quashed.

Yes, HR professionals should do everything they can to ensure false or exaggerated rumors are truly sunk, but if the workplace is a pressure cooker and gossip is merely a way of letting workers release some pent-up frustration, employers also need to learn that the day-to-day banter between office workers isn't going to upset anyone and is actually a healthy outlet for teams and individuals alike.

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