9:07pm Saturday 22nd December 2007
By Kat Dibbits
AFTER the Christmas party season, office gossip is rife. In America, some employers have banned gossiping in the workplace altogether. How well that would work in Bolton . . ?
FROM who drank too much at the Christmas party to who did what with who, gossip is a staple of everyday office life. But one company in America has banned gossip altogether.
Sam Chapman, owner of Chicago firm Empower public relations, banned his employees from gossiping as he believed it damaged careers and morale.
Chapman told Good Morning America: "I think gossip can be toxic and cleaning it up is an important mission. If you're committed to gossip, you get fired. So, there's a very severe penalty."
Chapman swears it has made his company a better place to work, but is the same attitude likely to migrate over here?
It seems unlikely. Paul Norris, head of PNC Business Development Consultants, in Mawdsley Street, Bolton, said: "I think the world's finally gone totally mad! The next thing, it'll be down to the employer to police it and if they don't take action accordingly then there'll be all sorts of to do, no doubt.
"And on a lighter note, what would an office be without office gossip? It just goes to show that all that comes out of America is not necessarily good."
Nigel McFarlane, local policy manager for Bolton at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce agrees.
He said: "Lightweight and harmless gossip is probably the lifeblood of any office. I think it helps relieve tension and pressure from the working day and as long as nobody is harmed and performance doesn't drop then the idea of banning it is quite a ludicrous one.
"I think unfortunately, the chance of their being malicious gossip is just the risk you have to take when you have a lot of human beings in a room together. Wise managers will have protocols and processes in place so that if somebody is harmed by any form of malicious gossip there are processes to deal with it, both in terms of helping them and in terms of punishing those who are responsible for it.
"But you can't stop it altogether and you shouldn't try because it's just part and parcel of British office life."
Adlington-based psychologist Tom Phillips also does not believe that a ban could work.
He said: "If you ever suppress anything it's natural that it'll find another way to get out; that's the first thing that would happen."
And research in Australia has found that in fact Sam Chapman could be completely misguided in his belief that gossip is damaging - in fact, it could be good for you.
According to Grant Michelson, senior lecturer in work and organisational studies at the University of Sydney, office gossip is a universal phenomenon and an important tool in workplace communication.
According to Michelson, managers use the gossip grapevine to pick up titbits that might help them anticipate future problems, while workers process chit-chat to find out where they stand in the company "pecking order".
And the most popular spot for having a gossip about work colleagues is outside while smoking, according to a new survey.
A survey of more than 1,000 workers by recruitment firm Office Angels found other hotspots for having a chin wag included drinks machines or the local cafe.
However, the survey also found that more than one in three of those questioned said they had heard someone talking about them behind their back and some had a working relationship ruined by office gossips.
David Clubb, managing director of Office Angels, said: "While office chit-chat is part of working life there can be a fine line between social interaction and nasty gossip.
"It is important to maintain a professional attitude at all times. Starting rumours about colleagues undermines working relationships and can lead to an atmosphere of mistrust, impacting on performance.
"If you are seen to start malicious gossip, both your colleagues and senior management will view you as someone who doesn't think values such as honesty and integrity are important."
So, while harmless gossip is an important part of everyday working life, beware the temptation to spread malicious gossip - it may not only be the subject of your tattling who is damaged by it.
And always remember the words of Broadway actress Dorothy Neville: "The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
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