The People Lab Podcast

Episode 22 What Effect Does Gossip Have on the Morale in the Workplace?

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Tough question: What is your current culture of gossip COSTING your organization?

Communication and Culture: Gossip can create a culture of mistrust, which will stop 🛑 open, honest, and vulnerable communication.

 

Organizations move at the speed of trust.  

Are you cultivating a culture of trust, mistrust, or distrust among your team?  Among your department?  Interdepartmental? Organization wide? When employees/team members are hesitant to share their thoughts and ideas, it hinders the creative process and slows down productivity. A culture of gossip can create cliques and factions, leading to a fragmented work environment.

  • We all learned this in middle school.  If someone will say something bad to you about someone else, they will say something bad about you, to someone else

    • Execution and Teamwork: Gossip can distract employees from their work, leading to poor execution and team performance.  Gossip can create divisions and cliques, undermining team collaboration and cohesion.

    • To address the impact of gossip on execution and teamwork, it's essential to establish clear goals and expectations for team members. 

      • Leadership and Supervision: Leaders and supervisors play a critical role in creating a positive work environment that promotes morale and productivity. *When they fail to address gossip, it can erode trust in their leadership and authority, which causes a breakdown in team trust and confidence in each other to do the job they are supposed to do (and paid to do).

      • To limit the impact of gossip, it's essential to provide regular training and development opportunities for leaders and supervisors. 

      • They should be equipped with the tools and skills necessary to handle conflicts and promote a positive work environment. 

        • Personal Development and Growth: Gossip can negatively impact personal growth and development by demotivating employees and creating a negative work environment. When employees feel undervalued or unsupported, it hinders their ability to grow and develop professionally.

        • To address the impact of gossip on personal growth and development, it's essential to provide regular feedback and recognition to employees. 

          • "How Full is Your Bucket" Book – feedback ratios

            • 3:1 Negative

            • 5:1 Neutral

            • 7:1 Positive – boardroom and living room; spouse/kiddos

              • People Operations study – 70% of employees surveyed said they believe employee engagement is directly tied to recognition

              • 60% said their work was not recognized enough

              • 53% said their work was not recognized at all by their current leader

                • Leadership 101 – What gets rewarded gets repeated

                • Management should acknowledge and appreciate employee/team member contributions, which can boost morale and create a positive work environment. 
                  When leadership doesn’t hold people to accountable to the standards we have agreed to (by agreeing to work here and signing the handbook) – they are saying “the rules don’t apply to everyone” and if it affects the job others are doing and they let it go on, they are sanctioning incompetence –which will erode the trust of the team members even further

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                  The People Lab PodcastBy Mike Conn