How Can Office Gossip Reduce Stress in the Workplace?

Good news travels fast but bad news travels faster.

It was a day after Peter had sent an email to his colleagues in which he had informed them about his divorce and Peter had taken the day off.

It was not Peter’s email, but the reaction of the team members that puzzled John - his team members had spent a lot of their work time chatting about Peter. John faced a problem – he didn’t like gossip but didn’t know how to deal with it.

It was lunch time. Ruth and John were alone in the office.

“Wow, such a “stormy” morning,” John started looking at Ruth as if seeking her approval. Ruth was working. He repeated. Still no answer. John knew Ruth’s habit – when she was busy working on computer, she saw and heard nothing.

Suddenly Ruth turned to the boss: “You said something? I think I need some coffee, and you?”

John nodded. Ruth went to the coffee machine where she met some colleagues from the other department. A chorus of “ahs”, “ohs”, hows”, and “whys” followed and bewildered her.

Very excited, Ruth returned to the office. “Our colleagues from the marketing department know about Peter’s divorce. I can’t understand how they’ve got this information,” Ruth said in an incredibly matter-of-fact tone.   

John replied slowly: “I’ve read somewhere that about 10 percent of employees spread news through email. Hmm…Is an email good for sharing personal information? Not sure. Does it matter now? Perhaps…Anyway, gossip can spread quickly.” He frowned remembering how Emily and Sam had been discussing Peter’s email. Emily was a good assistant but she always wanted to have her finger on the pulse of other colleagues. Sam… John could hardly resist the temptation to tell him to stop shooting off his mouth. How people could be so much interested in someone’s private life, he wondered.

“I think we should ban gossip in the office and stop allowing our team members to spread it,” John said firmly. Still, he hesitated – there was not any “no gossip” policy in the company. Nobody took office gossip seriously – employees chatted about their colleagues… Additionally, this created too much distraction in the workplace. He stopped himself from saying more than he wanted, curious to hear Ruth’s opinion.

Ruth looked at John absolutely surprised trying to put her thoughts into words. “Well, you are sometimes a bit of a hard-liner. Hmm…Supposing, you try to ban gossip, employees won’t stop talking behind someone’s back. Look – I have a suggestion …,” Ruth said trying to convince John.

She explained to him that according to the latest research done by the University of California office gossip could help employees reduce stress in the workplace.

“We need to understand communication habits of our employees and learn how they discuss the so-called unwritten rules. Gossip can help transmit information about norms and moral values. Maybe it sounds strange but participating in gossip at some level can produce an effect of buffering and help establish trust,” Ruth went on giving John more ideas.

John was thinking about Ruth’s words that had put a new point of view before him. He shook his head. To him, participating in gossip seemed abnormal and unhealthy. Still fighting a battle in his mind, he thought perhaps Ruth was right. John wanted to reply but suddenly saw Emily, Sam, and Mike entering the office.

“I am a master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. Poor Peter!” Sam said pathetically. A crooked smile came over Emily’s face. Mike said nothing.

Looking sharply at Sam, John said: “William Ernst Henley? Well, actually he was right – a man is the origin of his action.”

Ruth, Emily, and Mike were looking at John expectantly. John’s face tightened. What did they hope to hear? Suddenly it occurred to him it was his chance. He said stressing the last word: “Folks, let’s have a drink after work … and CHAT.” Then he went out.

How would you deal with office gossip?