Gossip in the Workplace free essay sample

Gossip in the work place Charlie Brown Peanuts University Prof. Writing in the Disciplines Business Communications EN306B Judy Brown July 18, 2010 Abstract In every work place environment gossip is very common and almost every working individual has been involved in it in some form or another. Although gossip is often derogatory most working individuals have either engaged in it or have been a victim of it. I t can also be referred to as a form of work place bullying and have a detrimental affect on an organization because it can cause a great deal of harm to the people involved and the organization it self. The gossip mill is a workplace problem that is very easy to get involved and also almost very hard to resist and it is a problem that needs to be addressed. The effects of gossip will be analyzed through this report. Gossip in the work place INTRODUCTION The main focus of this report is to examine the existence of gossip in the work place. Gossiping as a whole will be defined and it repercussions in the work place environment will be analyzed. Although, gossip is often associated with work place bullying this report will only examine the concerns of gossiping at the financial services department for CHATEX Co. This organization is a transportation company with over 500 employees and the financial services department is the support department that employs thirty para-professionals who handle everything from book keeping, contracts and payroll. The CHATEX’s financial services department will be the central focus for this report since; it has had a high volume of employee turn over within the last two years. CHATEX’s management team has recognized that gossip in the work place could be the issue that has contributed to low employee morale and high employee turn over. CHATEX prides itself in customer service and feels that employee loyalty and longevity are essential to its success, so they have requested an analysis of gossip and its ramifications in the work place. Therefore, the office environment at CHATEX was examined where a confidential survey was conducted and the data was collected as well as research from other sources was analyzed. GOSSIP THE PROBLEM In order to understand its ramifications gossip needs to be defined. In their article Gossip’s Toll On The Workplace, Smerd and Jeremy define gossip as â€Å"idle chit chat but reputational warfare† where rumors, non factual stories are spread that can hurt the reputation of the person being talked about. Work place gossip can cause a great deal of harm to an organization in his employee newsletter Hennessey claims that there are several ways in which gossip can hurt a company. The ways are listed as follows: * Lost productivity and wasted time * Morale and trust are eroded * Increased anxiety among employees as rumors circulate without any clear information as to what is fact and what isn’t * Divisiveness tends to grow among employees as people may â€Å"take sides† * Feelings and reputations are hurt, sometimes causing severe damage. * The â€Å"gossipers† may jeopardize changes for their own advancement because they are perceived as unprofessional. * Good employees may leave the company due to an unhealthy work atmosphere. Since, gossiping was defined gossiping as a serious work place problem that affects both the employee and the organization it also needs to be analyzed and recommendations to a solution need to be implemented to prevent it from happening. SOLUTION/RECOMMENDATION(S) Since, gossip was defined as the underlying reason affecting low employee morale and a high employee turn over the Human Resources department were given the results of the survey conducted at CHATEX Co. and were given a set of recommendations. These recommendations included a change in policy and procedures section in the employee handbook. These changes include a strong policy against harassment in any form that includes bullying/gossiping in any form. The policy stresses no tolerance to rumors or gossip in any form and implemented an open door policy in which any one come drop in and express any discomfort or inform the H. R. dept that they are victims of gossip. The H. R. dept. will pursue an investigation and if the investigation finds that the allegations are true then the parties involved will be counseled and given an oral reprimand. If parties being reprimanded continue to partake in office gossip they will be written up and depending on the severity of the gossip they will be suspended a full day with out pay. In his news letter Hennessy recommends ways in which gossip can be avoided and lists questions that a person might ask themselves if they find themselves in a situation where they might be tempted to participate in gossip. The questions are as follows: * Is what I am about to say true? * Is it harmless? * How would I feel if someone said something similar about me? How would I feel if I saw my words quoted in the daily paper? * How am I going to feel later if I say this (or listen to this)? * Does gossiping honor my own personal values? Hennessey also included a quote in the newsletter that has a powerful message about gossip that reads: â€Å"The real art of conversation is not to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment†. -Dorothy Nevil RES ULTS AND ANALYSIS OF SURVEY The survey was an anonymous survey given to the support staff at CHATEX Co. t was an online survey where the results collected were to be collected and interpreted to analyze and come up with recommendations for the company. The survey questions were all yes or no questions and were as follows: 1. Do you believe gossip exists in the workplace/office environment? 2. Have you ever participated in gossip in the workplace? 3. Have you ever gossiped about a fellow co-worker? 4. Have you ever gossiped spread rumors about a fellow co-worker because you are jealous of him or her? 5. Have you ever gossiped about someone purposely to harm that person? . Have you ever been a victim of gossip in the workplace? 7. Do you believe that gossip in the workplace can hinder/prevent a person from succeeding in the workplace? 8. If yes to question six did you confront the person or people who were gossiping about you? 9. Can office gossip hurt employee morale? 10. Do you beli eve that management is sometimes involved in workplace gossip or rumors? It was analyzed that out of thirty para-professionals only twenty-eight participated and all are full time employees working in the financial services department of CHATEX Co. Their ages range from twenty-one to fifty-two years and the findings do support the before mentioned research that gossip is a problem in the work place environment. * 100% do believe that gossip exists in the workplace environment * 70. 4 % admitted that they have participated in some sort of gossip or another * 67. 9 % stated that they have been a victim of gossip in the workplace * 85. 7% believe that gossip in the workplace can hinder/prevent a person from being successful in the workplace. * 100% agree that gossip can hurt employee morale * 92. % believe that management is sometimes involved in workplace gossip Since, low employee morale leads to poor employee production and effectiveness the following is a chart that indicates how many people admitted to being a victim of gossip in the workplace: CONCLUSION In order to promote workplace harmony and increase employee morale and stop the high employee turn over in the financial services department of CHATEX Co. a new employee pol icy needs to be implemented. After implementation of this new policy employees must respect and adhere to its rules or serious consequences or even termination may ensue for non-compliance. Mandatory employee training for all employees of CHATEX Co. will be done to discuss the changes of the employee handbook and the implementation of the â€Å"no gossiping â€Å" policy will be discussed along with its repercussions. Every year once a year a survey will be conducted to analyze and evaluate if the problem has improved and the results will be reviewed and discussed in annual employee grass roots seminar. References 1. Hennessy, k. (n. d. ). Workplace gossip. Employee Newsletter, Retrieved from http://www. healthsystem. virginia. du/internet/feap/newsletters Gossip. pdf 2. Holland, Margaret G. â€Å"What’s wrong with telling the truth? An analysis of gossip† Academic Onefile. Web. 17 July 2010. (Document ID:A18478474 3. Nefer, B. , (2009, April). Neutralizing the power of workplace gossip. SuperVision, 70(4), 14-16. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global (Document ID: 1749569611). 4. Smerd, J.. (2010, March). GOSSIP’S TOLL ON THE WORKPLACE. Workforce Management, 89(3),3. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:1980892741