By Lance Winslow

It seems there is a lot of Machiavellian political politics being played in the modern workforce. We see this in offices, at the executive level, and even amongst employees in a retail setting. There's a lot of posturing, ladder climbing, and mind numbing gossip, much more than we see during regular socializing events, or in our homes. I'd like to talk to you about this for a moment if I might.

There was an article in Science Daily recently titled; "We Are Basically Honest - Except When We Are at Work, Study Suggests," on December 14, 2012 which stated;

"A new study has revealed we are more honest than you might think. The University of Oxford and the University of Bonn suggests that it pains us to tell lies, particularly when we are in our own homes. It appears that being honest is hugely important to our sense of who we are. However, while it might bother us to tell lies at home, we are less circumspect at work where we are probably more likely to bend the truth."

Well, if we know this to be true and that people are more apt to lie in the workplace than in their personal lives, or at school then we do have a problem. Whereas the article didn't speak of lying in education, I assume it also exist there. Is this where people learn to become better liars before going into the workplace? Do more people lie in the workplace who are educated and therefore have those jobs? None of these things were discussed, but I would speculate that perhaps this is a component of the overall challenges to this issue.

If you run a company, or are an office manager then you need to think about these things. If you are a CEO with an executive team, you need to make sure they work together, and not against each other. If everyone is trying to glorify themselves or come out on top, it will be very difficult for them to join together in the common cause of shareholders equity, quarterly profits, and beat the competition in the marketplace for the largest portion of the market share pie.

Maybe it is time that you talk to your staff at the office level, in the retail space, and also around the executive corporate boardroom about these findings, and what it means to the future your company. It's hard to work together as a team if everyone is telling stories and lying to each other. Ethics in the workplace is obviously a very important matter, something that you should have addressed already.

Of course, it starts in the minds of each and every individual and therefore I thought you should know about this. Indeed I hope you will please consider it all and think on it.

Control Gossip in the Company

By George D. Brown

It's impossible to do away with gossip at work. There is no company in the world where employees don't gossip. As a rule, people discuss their bosses, their peers and the workplace itself. As in a gossip information is transformed greatly, truth can easily turn into lies and the boundary between truth and partial truth can become blurred.

One more subject to gossip about is how much money people earn in the company. Quiet often employees exaggerate their achievements and say they earn more than they actually do. Having heard this, others go directly to their boss and demand a pay-rise.

Another sort of gossip is when people start discussing company issues. This gives them the feeling of belonging to the company. In fact, they only share recent news, and there is nothing wrong with it.

An employer should be very delicate about such matters as employees' private conversations. There should not be the impression that a boss is trying to suppress his / her employees, to deprive them of their right to discuss problems. At the same time, there are cases when measures about gossip should be taken. Here they are:

Gossip prevents people from fulfilling their tasks at work.
Gossip bruises someone's feelings.
Gossip destructs peer-to-peer relationships at work.
Gossip reduces employees' motivation to work, leads to inappropriate behavior.

If you feel that the issue of workplace gossip disturbs you too often, try to find out what exactly is most actively discussed by employees. Maybe you can change the situation easily: people start gossiping if they lack information. In this case, you should provide them with more information officially. Remember that people may also feel afraid of their boss, they don't feel free to ask if something is true or not directly. One more thing to remember is that harmless gossip may easily turn into harmful, it's always better prevent unpleasant gossip in the beginning, unless it influences the whole company in a negative way.

Don't be afraid of managing gossip issues. It's similar to managing any other unacceptable behavior in a workplace. Coach employees, let them switch from one behavioral type to another on their own will. Initiate a direct manager-to-employee conversation if necessary. If it does not bring any effect, continue with disciplinary actions (for example, verbal and written warnings).

One more important point is to follow your own words and behavior. Avoid hints and double meanings in your statements. Make gossip unlikely to appear in the company.