How Do I Deal With Workplace Gossip Women Weigh In

How Do I Deal With Workplace Gossip Women Weigh In Have a work-related harte nuss youd like to talk through with other smart professionals? The Fairygodboss Discussion Board serves that exact purpose. Youll find threads, started by women, addressing numerous career concerns and workplace woes, like this oneYesterday, I overheard three colleagues speaking about how I smell bad. They then all began to discuss my appearance as I have two small kids, I dont have a lot of time to spend on this. Do I confront them for speaking about me during work hours in front of clients?Whether about personal or work issues, office gossip has a toxic effect on staff morale and can compromise professional trust and collaboration. Fairygodboss looked to career experts and members of the FGB community for tips on how to take the high road when workplace chatter gets you down.Address personal gossip directly, but be sure to keep your cool.In an instance like the one described in the discussion hauptplatine question, its often most effective to have a conversation with the gossipy colleagues. However, its important (albeit difficult) to keep emotions in check when raising the issue. In response to this discussion thread, an anonymous FGBer offered this sage adviceI do think you could confront them you might be most effective if youre able to do it in a calm way that indicates to them that youre hurt rather than angry. Killing with kindness really can work if they sense that youre angry or combative, that may only escalate tension and make things worse. If you approach them in a way that they dont see as threatening, theyll likely be apologetic and realize that they should refrain from this kind of hurtful gossip at work (and otherwise).When casual conversation takes a turn into gossip territory, distract and redirect.Developing workplace friendships can take a job from merely tolerable to truly enjoyable, but keeping your conversations professionally appropriate isnt always easy. When pleasant chats hover dangerously close to mean-spirited gossip, life coach Erica McCurdyrecommends a diversion tactic that she calls distract and redirect. She explained it to Fairygodboss like soWe have all been sucked into a gossip conversation that we wish we could take back. When lighthearted conversation turns to gossip,distract and redirect.You have a million things you can talk about, so pick any other one and start talking about it.Interruption for the sake of shutting down gossip is always permissible. One great way to stop talking about others is to talk about yourself. Sounds selfish, but as a distraction and gossip stopper, its perfectly fine. Interrupt to share a funny thing that happened as if you just remembered and cant hold back. Even if your story isnt all that funny, you may have diverted attention away from the gossip long enough to have avoided trouble.Another redirection strategy is to share another piece of office news that isnt gossip. Ask a question or shar e information about an upcoming meeting, event or personnel change.Create a culture of communication that encourages sharing and discourages gossip.If your office is a hotbed of work-themed gossip, transparency and clear inter-company communication can limit the spread of troublesome and unsubstantiated rumors. Deborah Sweeney, the CEO of MyCorporation.com,believes that open discussions make employees feel engaged and help keep gossip at bay.I like to promote open discussion. Often, gossip stems from people assuming they know something people who have a guess about something but may not be right. I think that open communication is key, especially when it comes to items around the business. This enables people to ask questions and get direct answers rather than speculate about why certain people are working on specific projects or why the business is going in a certain direction, Sweeney told Fairygodboss.But what if you work for a company with multiple office locations, where rumor s can quickly inflate due to a lack of centralization? According to Sophie Miles, the CEO of CalculatorBuddy.com(a company withemployees in three continents), an internal social-networking platform can make employees feel like active participants in the company culture, even if theyre physically far away. Companies can use an internal social network platform to model sincerity and openness on a number of topics. When there are credible channels for the discussion to occur, a concern can be addressed openly rather than metastasized into gossip, Miles explained.If youre a manager, try to be a role model.Managers who want to train their employees out of malicious chit-chat should start by setting a strong example themselves. Sarah Hague, marketing manager of online retailer Find Me A Gift, offers the following suggestions to those in leadership positionsHowever hard it may be, dont gossip yourself. Often, staff will follow your behavior. If you hear gossip going on as a manager, deal w ith the problem head-on by talking to the people responsible and letting them know that these actions are not acceptable.--Have a question you need answered, or a thought you want to share? See what women are saying about their careers, home lives, and more on theFairygodboss Discussion Board, and weigh in on the convo.