Can a business suffer unnecessary costs as a result of employee gossip?
Here are just a few obvious consequences, especially if the gossip is of a malicious or annoying nature: • Employee misunderstandings, which can lead to conflict. Conflict will affect productivity. • Employee mistrust of one another, which can negatively impact team performance. • Employee turnover, as some employees might feel powerless when targeted by gossip.They simply resign and go to work somewhere else. • Employee morale is affected. Once trust and credibility are lost, it is often difficult or impossible to restore those earned positions. • Supervisory burnout for those trying to resolve the problem. It can become so overwhelming (who said what to whom, who was involved, etc.) that the supervisor wonders if the job is worth the emotional toll.
