”Derick Boshard, a partner at global executive search and leadership firm, Heidrick and Struggles, says if people are gossiping in the office, the communication system has broken down and people are speculating about things they think they should know about (1).

Most employers underestimate the prevalence of corporate grapevines and the information that is passed along through them. More often than they realize, employees are turning to the rumor mill when employers fail to give them accurate or complete information regarding the company.

A recent study conducted for Randstad, a Netherlands-based Staffing Services Company (that has offices all across Canada) found that when employers withhold information from their staff, the rumor mill takes over in their place. Any information gaps that exist will be quickly filled in by the grapevine. Employees want to know what’s going on with the company as it happens.

The study, conducted by Roper ASW, consisted of a survey made on 1,497 employees and 1,329 employers all across North America. The results showed that 83% of the surveyed employers thought their employees heard important announcements first through official channels, whereas only 53% of the employees said that they got their information from management first. Furthermore, 55% of employers think they are “excellent communicators,” but only 35% of employees agreed.

According to Linda Galiea, manager of Randstad’s Canadian operations, employers need to make much more of an effort in giving work-related information fully, whether it is positive or negative or even if it is regarding a plan that is still in the works…(2).

Why does gossip persist? In addition to the above information, consider the following:

…Gossip has long been dismissed by researchers as little more than background noise, blather with no useful function. But why does gossip persist? In addition to the above information, consider the following: Investigators now say that gossip should be central to any study of group interaction.

People find it irresistible for good reason: gossip not only helps clarify and enforce the rules that keep people working well together, studies suggest, but it circulates crucial information about the behavior of others that cannot be published in an office manual. As often as it sullies reputations, psychologists say, gossip offers a foothold for newcomers in a group and a safety net for group members who feel in danger of falling out (3).

I conclude with a quote attributed to Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” (4).

References

1) Shevel, Adel “Hot Gossip” Sunday Times June 8, 2003 (downloaded 8/16/05 from http://www.clivesimpkins.com/html/topic.html -pp 1-2).

2) “When Corporate Gossip Takes Over” Vertex-Online (downloaded 8/16/05 from http://www.vertex-online.com/articles/systempl.asp? -p.1).

3) Carry, Benedict “Have You Heard? Gossip Turns Out To Serve A Purpose” The New York Times (Science Times) August 16, 2005 p. D1.

4) The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations 1992, p. 172.