The Truth About Workplace Gossips
Updated: Jan 16, 2022
Written by: Sílvia Fontquerni, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Everybody witnessed gossips spreading at the workplace, maybe being victims of negative gossips or spreading gossips themselves. Gossips are part of daily life, but…
Why do colleagues spread gossips? What are the consequences of gossips? What is the utility of gossips?
The reason why gossip starts to spread may be for million reasons. Sometimes gossips may have a part that is be true but lots of times they may create a snowballing chain of information which ends up being a bunch of lies.
Gossips’ purpose:
If someone has a problem, and they are a victim of unfair treatment, what does a gossip fix? Does it improve the situation or does it makes it worse?
The thing is, not always gossips are spread with good intentions, and most of the time they are just a perception of the person which may be distorted. Sometimes the intention behind may be discrediting someone and damage their reputation.
Let’s see an example:
There is a leader which loves to be in the spotlight. A member of the team has a lot of POTENTIAL and starts shining. The leader may see the team member as a threat, feeling insecure and jealous. Let’s imagine that the team member starts to be recognized for the hard work and for the results. The leader may not be able to handle the frustration and in consequence, he or she starts inventing and spreading malicious rumours to damage the team member’s reputation to prevent the subordinate become better than him or her.
Gossips can have an extremely negative impact at the workplace.
Provoking bullying.
Destring work atmosphere.
Damaging team working and team building.
Decreasing productivity and efficiency.
Damaging motivation and trust.
And endless consequences that will definitely impact negatively the team and the workplace.
The truth is…
If someone is feeling completely fulfilled, happy and completely focused on making their dreams come true, what is the need of focusing on what others do and trying to damage them?
The thing is, when someone discredits someone in a negative way, it is telling more about the person spreading the gossip than the gossip itself.
Someone who is focusing too much on other people’s lives, on discrediting people, on damaging their reputation, on inventing lies and bully… that person is definitely in pain and not happy. Maybe it is the belief that for him or her is not possible, that he or she is not enough or any other belief that holds them back from creating the personal and professional life they desire.
Imagine what could you do if…
…The time you are spending on talking about other people’s lives, you were spending it on being happy, on feeling fulfilled, on making your dreams come true, on working on that promotion that you truly desire!
…If the creativity you use to make up stories about other people you would use it to get results, to make your work and life better!
The possibilities would be infinite!
My advice is
You may not know why a person spreads gossip, gossips may or not be true. In my opinion, it is important to have your own judgment. Do not assume what people say as truth, gossips and opinions are just a perception of a reality that may not even be real. Test it yourself, do not follow the crowd, stay away from the negativity that is not constructive and follow your own gut feeling and experience.
Sílvia Fontquerni, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sílvia is from Barcelona currently working and living in London, UK. Her work as a coach consists in helping individuals and professionals be at their best not only at the workplace but also in personal life. She studied Psychology, Human Resources, and Coaching.
As a Life Coach, she gives support and guidance so that clients can unleash their full potential and as a result, be able to achieve their goals: build self-confidence, overcome fears & self-limitations, gain clarity in order to make the right decisions and be able to awake their inner wisdom.
As Workplace & Team Coach, she helps professionals to maximise their performance and development in areas such as communication, team building/engagement, emotional intelligence and leadership. She understands the importance of a leader role in companies in order to be aligned in organisation culture, values and goals. Innovation and change are key in a company's success.
