Company Blog

Pssst, did you hear….?

by Adam Zack — April 13, 2016

Gossip is everywhere in our culture

Come here, you’re not going to believe this! Last night Tim was supposed to take Yolanda out. I know managers aren’t supposed to date employees, but he really likes her. I heard that just before he was going to pick her up – oh, and he was taking her to this super fancy restaurant – she called him and said she couldn’t go because she had to stay in and wash her cat! I hear Tim is super pissed, but Becky in floral told me that he sent – get this – two dozen roses to her house with a fancy card and a box of Godiva chocolates. I heard that she thinks he’s sweet, but she thinks he walks funny and doesn’t like that mole with the hair sticking out of it on his elbow…. I’ll let you know when I hear more!

Could be pretty much any store, or any business for that matter. Gossip gone wild is one of the most unproductive, divisive and harmful activities any company can have. But it’s human nature! Everyone does it! I wasn’t hurting anyone! I didn’t tell anyone! I was only listening! So what can you do about it in your store? It is NOT easy, and it takes a commitment from leadership to take a stand against gossip. “We don’t gossip here” has to be one of the company’s commitments. It needs to be part of the training program and employee communications. Gossip (and complaining without a request) says more about the person gossiping than the person being gossiped about. So what are managements stands?

Don’t listen to gossip. And make it clear that you won’t be a participant.
Make a proactive statement that gossip is unwelcome in your store.
Talk to the persons you gossip with (and get your managers and employees to do the same) and make a commitment to not gossip. When you team up to not team up when it comes to gossip, it’s much easier to police yourself.

Gossip is everywhere in our culture (did you see that spot on Monica’s blue dress??!!) and that won’t change, but you can change the culture of your business when it comes to gossip. I bet you can’t wait to hear what you don’t hear.