This episode was inspired by a Harvard Business Review article titled, “Stop Complaining About Your Colleagues Behind Their Backs.” The premise of the article is that most people engage in workplace gossip without realizing that it is gossip. As well, conversations with seemingly innocent intentions like confirming performance behaviour or venting can also turn into gossip. On this episode, we talk about gossip in the workplace, why it happens, the impact it has on organizations and teams, and how to engage in more productive and effective conversations with your colleagues.

Key Takeaways:

Ask yourself, “Why are you talking about this person in the first place and why did you choose to do so with this person in particular?”
Pay attention to how a conversation makes you feel; if you’re getting an icky feeling, it’s probably not a useful conversation.
If you are going to expend the energy to gossip, you might want to consider using that energy to figure out a more effective way to let someone know how you are feeling, ask a question, or fill in the blanks.