Workplace Gossips

www.humancapitalonline.com �18 � May 2013

� BY SWATI BHASIN

Workplace gossiping is the biggest testimony of the 'love-hate'relationship of an employee with employer. Regardless of thesize and brand value of the organization, every employer likesto dwell upon the utopian thought of making the workplacerumour-free!

Rumours galore...to gossiping no more !!!

COVER STORY �

‘What goes around comesaround!' is true not only ofKarma, but also aboutworkplace gossips. We have

often heard and ignored the cliché, whoevergossips with you, will gossip about you! Manya time, the corporate world too commits theblunder of treating workplace rumors as atrivial issue or tries to sweep such instancesunder the carpet. However, in theorganizational context, there is no denyingthe fact that loss of reverence towards theorganization in the eyes of employees or arift created among colleagues due tomiscommunication are some of the seriousimplications of gossiping.

As much as we may like to look downupon the gossiping behavior prevalent among

employees, an interesting irony that can beattached here is how gossiping finds animportant place in the evolutionary context,as stated by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionarybiologist. According to him, not onlygossiping has been found to foster strongersocial bonds throughout history, but he hasalso stressed upon how 65 per cent ofconversations mostly comprise of socialtopics. Since gossiping comes naturally tohumans, it becomes all the more necessaryfor the corporate world to analyze thegossiping behavior among the workforce inorder to leverage the positives and minimizethe negatives.

Why it happens?Manav*, a journalist, was recently fired from

May 2013 � 19www.humancapitalonline.com�

� COVER STORY

a fashion magazine. The case in question isquite thought provoking from an HRviewpoint. Manav was disturbed from a verylong time with the erratic working hours thateven ate up most of his weekends andholidays. Also, his long- term aspirations didnot align with that of the organization as hewas more interested in setting up his ownbusiness, and he often discussed his concernswith his colleague, Dharamesh*. Although, hedidn't have a choice but to continue in hiscurrent job; yet due to stress and illness, hewas once forced to take a week's leave, andhis boss was not too happy with it. When hecame back, the Editor fired him because shecame to know that he was not interested towork here and had other 'business plans 'ofhis own. She even accused him of

incompetence. Later, Manav realized that itwas Dharmesh who had spilled the beans justto earn a few extra brownie points from theboss. Manav regretted divulging suchinformation to a colleague, and learnt alifetime lesson about the dire consequenceof gossiping. From an HR perspective, thereaction of all three people involved, Manav,Dharamesh and the Editor, is undoubtedlyquestionable and each of them could havehandled the situation more professionally.

Curiosity gets piqued, as to why do suchinstances happen bringing difficult timesupon the employers and the employees, andhow the extreme reactions and behaviors canbe controlled. Only a deep insight into thematter can help one understand the situationbetter.


A study published in theJournal of Applied Psychology,by a team of researchers fromNetherlands, claims that gossipmakes up for 90 per cent of theworkplace conversations,however, not all gossip can bebranded as negative. In theauthor's words, "By gossiping,one can warn group membersagainst others who violate groupnorms, and it is possible that thisexplicit motive is a reason toinstigate gossip." The studysuccessfully underlines theprevalence and underlyingpsychology of gossiping.

As Ratish Jha, SVP & Head-HR, Raychem RPG, also insists,"Spreading of rumors in anorganization highlights thefailure of the management toconnect with the workforce. Theemployees are not to be entirelyblamed for indulging in suchbehaviors." Prasad Kurian, a leaderin a leading FMCG brand, with adeep expertise in Development &Talent Management, concedes toJha's opinion and further explains,"Rumors are like darkness that existin the absence of light viz a vizcredible information and mutualtrust in this case, and thisencourages a culture where rumorsgalore! Employees have the need toknow about things that can impactthem, especially their jobs andcareers. If this information is notshared in a timely mannerthrough formal channels, itcan encourage a cultureof rumors."

Several situationsprepare thebreeding groundfor workplacegossip, and

Jha stresses on it bysaying, "A critical situation bestnurtures the rumors". Albeit, somemay think only an alleged romanticaffair between colleagues can triggerthe imagination of employees,however, HR's nightmare may beginwhenever there is a unionsettlement, or salary restrictions arebeing imposed during performancecycles, or there is a down-sizingexercise, or if the organization is ina phase of a major transformationsuch as restructuring or mergers andacquisitions, without keepingemployees in the loop, as PradiptaPanda, Group President HR, Adani

Group, sheds light on thecommon instances that

arouse the gossipingbehavior amongemployees. He

further confessesthat he comes

across suchsituations every

once in a while.

Shalaka Gadekar, GroupHead - Human Resources,Financial Technologies furtherelucidates the woes of HRpertaining to the gossip culture,"Whether employees talk aboutthe relations between seniormanagement, supposedresignations, or illicitrelationships which could bemere speculation, whatbecomes more damaging is thetendency of employees todiscuss the employer on socialnetworking sites in anunfavorable light. With theadvent of the Internet, gossipcan now be widespread on aninstant basis."

All in all, anything rangingfrom a dysfunctional coffeevending machine to a paycheque that bounced, to

personal habits and choice of aleader, can very well become thefodder for workplace gossip.However, it is important to identifythe reason to understand the gravityof the situation and plan furthercourse of action.

A mature way of handlingIn 2011, Ray Dalio, the Founder ofthe American investmentmanagement firm, BridgewaterAssociates, issued a diktat in hisorganization wherein gossiping wasbanned. According to the diktat, thestaff, prohibited from talking behindthe back of leaders andadministrators, would be fired iffound indulging into gossips andrumors more than twice. Arguably,even such an extreme step may failto resolve the issue at the groundlevel. Jha advocates a very contradictoryapproach to handle gossiping andrumors at workplaces. He believesthat the key solution lies in a liberalleadership that assures freedom tothe employees. An assurance isnecessary that the organization is allears to soothe the employee'sgrievances. In fact, in a field reporton gossip, published in the Journalof Contemporary Ethnography, leadauthor Timothy Hallett, a sociologistat Indiana University has asserted

COVER STORY �

� In a research carried out by British Market

Research Bureau Limited, it was revealed thatmen are more likely to gossip than women.The survey highlights that 55 per cent of men

said they gossipedat work, comparedto 46 per cent ofwomen whose toptopics were familyfeuds.

� Another research by Social Issues ResearchCentre also underlines the point where 33 percent of men have been found to be indulgingin gossip daily or almost every day - compared

to 26 per cent of women.

GOSSIPING IS NOT A

'WOMEN' THING

GOSSIPING IS NOT A

'WOMEN' THING


how gossiping (read discussingworkplace woes) in formal meetingsis done in a much more subtle wayas compared to when people ventout in informal meetings.

On the other hand, Gadekaraddresses the negative side ofgossiping as a form of workplaceviolence and talks about itsimplication on the organization,"Whether the rumor mill isproducing stories about asingle employee or theentire company, gossip inthe office can causespeculation, panic and aslide in productivity andmorale. Gossip at work mayimpact the overall employeeperformance, and lead to aworkforce that doesn't trustthe management, whichquickly causes alienationand employeedisengagement." Shesuggests that an employershould decide to takestringent action against thedefaulters, if the gossip is:� Disrupting theworkplace and the businessof work� Hurting employees'feelings� Damaging interpersonalrelationships� Injuring employeemotivation and morale

Communication is thekey to eradicate rumours, isa popular opinion. However,experts help us analyse theproper communicationchannels in detail. Gadekaropines that the hierarchiesin the organizations can beleveraged in this regard asthe entire hierarchical chainin the organizationalhierarchy is not only built tomanage the business but isalso built to manage thecommunication required tofunction efficiently. "Everychain in the hierarchy mustget easy access to thehierarchy just above it andcommunication should flowfreely between all," she says.

While on the other hand, Kurianlays emphasis on the 'sight' and'insight' approach to deal withrumors. "The best way to deal withrumors is to find out the need therumors are fulfilling for theemployees and address those needswith more positive alternatives. By'sight', I mean providing the relevantinformation in a timely mannerthrough legitimate channels so that

the employees can

figure out what is happeningwithout having to depend onrumor," he elaborates and adds, "By'insight', I mean sensitizing theemployees on the adverse impactrumors have on themselves, fellowemployees and the organization." Also, organizations have to furtherunderstand that mostly thedisengaged employees tend toinvolve themselves in such activitiesof rumor mongering. So Panda

suggests that it is best toengage these employeesand create rewardmechanisms that applaudthe right kind ofbehaviors. "The wrong-doers are never too largein number, as per myexperience. Leadersshould try and isolate thedefaulters and laterconfront them directly.The motive behindspreading the rumorsshould be understood andthen the course of actionshould be decided," saysPanda. Additionally, accordingto Panda it is alsonecessary to understandthe organizationaldynamics in order todiscourage such behaviorsin the long run. Trainingthe employees can also bea way out for the HRorganizations to engagethe employees in morepositive conversations. Conclusively, employershave to understand thatalthough taking strictaction might be necessaryin some cases, whether itis a warning note or a legalaction, however, astringent action mayfurther break the trust ofthe employees which canrather be counter-productive. So a balancedapproach becomesquintessential.

Several times, it isalso in the interest of theorganization to ignore a

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Leaders share their views on handling workplacegossips:

The balanced approach: Kurian strongly believes thatemployees solely cannot be held responsible forspreading the gossip culture in an organization. AndGadekar concedes to the opinion that smoke cannotbe there without fire. So, organizations shouldinvestigate office rumors, as discreetly as possible.Social media menace: In 2011, tweeple bashedMcDonald's for discrimination against Afro-Americancustomers when a false photo accidentally gotuploaded.The social networking sites have indeed become amenace, and the troubles are no lesser for theorganization as far as managing social media behavioramong the employees is concerned. However, Jhasays that tracking the employees on social media isan impractical thought and so is telling the IT teamsto block certain sites. Gadekar suggests a middleway out, "A separate unambiguous instant messagingand blogging policy can be introduced by theorganizations that prohibits employees from makingstatements about the organization, co-workers, andexternal customers, competitors, agents, or partnersthat could be considered harassing, or not appropriatein any way."

PEARLS OF WISDOMPEARLS OF WISDOM


particular situationwhere a rumor isharmless for theorganization. Forinstance, Jha gives anexample of aninterviewee who mighthave had a badexperience during theinterview and whomight spread the word,owing to a genuineexperience. However, aninterviewee might evendo that only owing to asimple reason of beingvindictive and not beingselected for a particularjob. "It is better to havea policy statement ondistinguishing betweenharmless and harmfulgossips," suggestsGadekar.

Call for responsible

leadershipThe captain of the shipweathers the storm. Hehas the power to sailthrough challenges ordrown the ship.Similarly, whether or notan instance ofemployees gossipingbecomes a biggertrouble for the organization, largelydepends on the acumen of leaders.Albeit, it might be a chanceoccurrence, but Panda says thatthere might be instances whenleaders themselves get involved inthe office gossip.

The story of Lokesh*, a softwareengineer with an IT giant who leadsa team of five people, is pertinenthere. He lost his chance of gettingpromoted as an Assistant Managerwhen HR and his new managerdoubted his involvement ininstigating his team membersagainst the manager. However, hisjustification has been that he wasonly trying to represent the concernsof his team, while they were tryingto adjust with a change inleadership.

Kurian shares his perspective inthis regard, "We should remember

that the businessleaders are also human beings andthat often adverse impact of thechanges on the leaders are more ascompared to that on their teams. Thishighlights the need for coaching theleaders and also creatingcommunication channels andforums. For the leader, establishinga vulnerable connection with theemployees, without losing positivityand the ability to lead the teamthrough the change is the magicfactor!" He further emphasizes whyleaders should let employees expresstheir concerns and demonstrate thewillingness to discuss those concernsin an open and constructive manner.

Walking the talk works best infavor of leadership teams as far asdiluting rumors are concerned. Whenemployees look up to leaders as rolemodels, they tend to see their

forerunner in a positivelight. Moreover, the task ofeliminating rumors inorganizations cannot besolely trusted upon theleaders. HR has to beequally proactive. "HRshould not considerspreading of rumors to bea management issue.Sometimes, themanagement does notprefer handling the issuesdirectly and that creates theproblem. Leaders, incollaboration with HR haveto try passionately tomaintain a congenial workenvironment whereemployee trust ismaintained," asserts Panda.

A sea-saw of perceptionsWhile in one surveyconducted by HarrisInteractive, gossiping is ratedas the top most pet peeve ina job by 60 per cent of therespondents; another surveyby Randstad revealed that therespondents considered poortime management skills in acolleague (43 per cent) to bea bigger pet peeve thangossiping ( 36 per cent). So,to indulge or not to indulge

in gossiping is looked at with variedperspectives.

Albeit, addressing the menace ofgossiping is still considered to be aninformal issue by many in the HRfraternity, however, Jha suggests thatthrough formal programs thataddress the fundamentals ofemployer branding, democratizingworkplaces and making theorganizational culture moretransparent, rumors can be nippedin the bud.

All in all, as Gadekar rightlyconcludes, "Using solidcommunication channels, providingtraining, and implementingworkplace policies may help turnthe office grapevine into a positivetool for the organization." HC

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Connecting for gossiping definitely has some benefits:

Makes you productive: A paper published in the Journalof Applied Psychology reveals that workplace gossiphelps in increasing productivity, as it helps people ingathering and validating information, and enjoyingthemselves with others, according to Bianca Beersma,the co-author of the study.

Helps in bonding and releasing tension: In a studypublished in the journal Personal Relationships, JenniferBosson, the author asserts that sharing negative gossipfosters bonding between two people and develops anunderstanding between them as they learn each others'grievances. Similar positive social effects have beenhighlighted in another paper in the Journal Personality

and Social Psychology.

THE BRIGHTER SIDE!THE BRIGHTER SIDE!

(* Names have been changed on request)

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Workplace Gossips