As humans, we like to be "in" on things.  Our natural curiosity drives us to want to know what is going on in our personal and work environments.  If we are not receiving accurate information, we may take liberty and create situations to fill the information gap.  Information is power and many of us like to feel important or powerful, so we spread information before knowing the true facts. Sometimes our work environment is set up to compete with other units or departments and this may fuel our desire to create half truths to stay competitive.  When rumors are spread to hurt another person's reputation, defamation of character may result, which can create legal problems for the defamer and organization.

So, what is the impact of rumors and gossip in the workplace?  When employees are not receiving open, honest communication, their work environment is full of anxiety, wasted time, divisiveness and decreased morale. As a manager or leader, you have the responsibility to take quick action to stop the rumors from spreading and affecting productivity.  Below you will find four tips on how to do this:

1)      Open communication- the first step to stop the rumor mill from spreading is to communicate relevant, timely information in as many ways as possible by a credible source.  The credible source is important if you want to stop the rumors quickly.  By using your intranet, newsletters, email and "state of the state" meetings to continually bring employees up to speed on company matters; you will be proactively creating an environment where rumors are kept to a minimum.

2)      Walk around- by walking the plant floor or office you will be available and approachable to employees that want to check their information with you.   You can quickly dispel any misguided information and hear first hand how it may have started.  By staying in your office, you will never hear how misinformation is impacting your employee's productivity.

3)   Describe unacceptable behavior- for employees to best understand the accepted culture of communication in your organization, you will need to list the types of behaviors that will not be accepted and their consequences in your employee handbook, i.e., starting false rumors to hurt another employee's reputation.    Just make sure you follow through with any consequences or the disruptive behaviors will continue. 

3)      Look in the mirror-as with any behavior we do not want our employees to do, make sure as a leader you are not spreading gossip or rumors yourself. Your actions will always speak louder than your words or policies. 

Gossiping and spreading rumors is part of our nature as human beings.  While you may never totally eliminate these in your workplace, you will find greater success in reducing them by following these four tips.