Here we will learn the answer to the question ‘Can you Fire an Employee for Gossiping?’.
Definition of gossip
Gossip is stories made up of a particular person, which may be true to some extent but be assured that it has layers and colors. A gossip can never be an authentic account of the incident or event. It always has some additional stories in an exaggerated form. Even if it’s true sometimes, it’s downright mean to share those personal details of your boss or a colleague with anyone.
Of course, employees can form a particular friendship and make jokes or give out nasty comments to each other, that is fine, but it gets disturbing when it is done to accuse someone or made to lose their promotions, etc.
Gossip always happens behind a person’s back. It declares the secrecy of a person and thereby brings condemnation to the person by the hearers, which amounts to character assassination, which gets dangerous for a workplace or, in fact, for any reason place you are at.
When does gossip get toxic?
- It gets lethal when it gets malicious.
- When those stories take the form of lies and deceit and cause division in the environment.
- Affecting the lives of the people around, making it stressful, robs the joy of doing anything, which gets pretty serious after that.
How to avoid being tagged as a gossiper?
We all know that there is a particular hue and shade of workplace politics, and a little bit of backbiting in the background goes around from time to time. It is a normal part of existence. You can’t close everybody’s mouth and pretend that it’s an all saints’ world. Some people are outspoken. They speak out their opinions without a care in the world, but that should not be interpreted as gossip. You need to learn to take things with a pinch of salt most of the time when you find yourself around a bunch of these kinds of people, assuming you are introverted. Suppose you have the opposite personality. It’s good to study the environment before you open your big mouth, as you will be working with different people with distinct personalities, backgrounds, cultures, and choices.
When there is an unhealthy level of gossip in the environment, this is where the problem sets in.
What happens if you have a group of employees who are harming the workflow and, at worst, causing dissensions and divisions in the workplace? And as a result, you are about to lose some of your best employees.
Can an employer fire an employee because of gossiping?
The answer is yes, as we presume the employment dynamics in the US to be “at-will” in all states except Montana.
It means they can terminate an employee for any reason and no reason without incurring legal liability. But, of course, the exception is there, such as an employer cannot use its at-will rights, like firing an old employee for avoiding the retirement plans, etc. But, other than for illegal reasons, an employer can at will fire an employee.
Anyway, being at-will state or not, an employer may fire anyone who has a careless attitude and harms the productivity and work environment. Gossip is a negative attitude that shouldn’t be tolerated. It is as bad as any other careless attitude.
Here is a list of reasons why gossip can be dangerous in the workplace and an employer has to take firm disciplinary action on the employee engaging in it:-
- Gossip can be disruptive:- Rumors, lies, and feelings of betrayal brought in by the act of gossiping can be detrimental to the growth of a team or workforce. In such a case, nobody would want a gossiper to stay. There is an old saying: a rotten potato rots the whole sack of potatoes. Any wise person will want to remove the rotten potato.
- It can lead to stress and may cause verbal conflicts in the workplace and may even lead to violent disruptions:– yikes, who wants that to happen. The last thing an employer wants is to face such a situation, bringing a bad name to the company and losing its reputation because of a malicious rumor spread by some employees or an employee.
- It can cause distrust between the employees:– It is a well-known thing that if you are in an atmosphere of gossip, there is a high level of suspicion among the employees. This distrust does not stay with just the employees, but it gets reflected in their teamwork. A business cannot be run without collaboration, right! So what gossip does is break the team spirit, which can be detrimental.
- It can cause low morale in the employee affected by it:– An employee whose character or work ethics are questioned. Rumors are spread, and they become the main talk of the employees over the coffee table or beside the water coolers; imagine the effects it will have on the employee that is being talked about. It decreases their confidence in the employers as well if the employer does nothing to curb it.
- It can cause the person affected by gossiping to work harder to prove their worth to their supervisors because workplace gossip may have set them up for disaster in their working space.
- It can waste precious hours of the employers:- Any malicious rumors have to be curbed before it gets out of control. An employer spends a significant amount of time solving these problems among the employees. Calling meetings to resolve the issues of gossip is a time-consuming affair. And worst is if the employer does not make the right decision according to the employee affected by the story, it can lose a precious employee.
So as you can see some of the effects that gossip can cause to both the employees and employers, it is best to set up a system where you are not required to spend precious hours and lose company productivity at the same time.
- You can set up a zero-tolerance rule for gossip in the workplace. An employer can use their authority to create rigid company policies with zero tolerance for the story and can add detrimental consequences like getting fired if an employee is found to do so.
- Setting up such a culture in the workplace can ease a lot of tensions and problems brought in by this act of spreading lies and rumors.
- Another way is to let your employees know that the office environment is strictly a professional zone. Let them know that they are required to create a mental separation of personal and professional when in the office. During their joining, the company’s stance and culture towards this attitude must be clearly stated. This is a nip it in the bud stance, and it will be helpful in the long run.
- The other thing is to let the employee know that office bullying and ragging are not welcomed. Sometimes it gets downright nasty and is intended to malign someone or even derail their career options.
- Let them know in advance about the company’s value of respect and honor among the staff. Creating this and of culture and vocalizing about it to your employees is a good thing, as they will have a structure to follow and adhere to. A company that does not have a proper work culture around this issue faces severe problems of this sort. Don’t wait for it to happen, instead make it your priority to take care of your employees’ wellbeing and create an environment of trust, oneness, and a helpful, loving atmosphere from the start.
- Set up a culture of bond and trust. A company that encourages positivity and love in the workplace can be just a rewarding experience for the employees.
An employer is the captain of the ship, and they can turn anything whichever way that they want to. Building a strong culture of peace, harmony, and respect is such a great way to keep the work environment healthy and thriving.
Conclusion
There is no place in this world where you will not find gossip or a certain amount of bite biting and spreading of rumors. It will always be there. What you can do is learn to ignore it or if you are the one gossiping, learn to self-discipline yourself. It’s not a good habit and a big no for a professional. Gossip has been a part of damaging careers and tarnishing people’s character. So why would anyone want to encourage this behavior anywhere?
A healthy mind is a mind that engages in good thoughts and sees the wellbeing of their fellow man. Work towards that and become a better version in everything possible, and yes, even in the workplace, it is time to be a little sensitive to others and help in creating a harmonious atmosphere in our workplace because that is where we spend most of our day. It is like your second home, and the people working together must look out for each other and not bite off each other’s heads. Creating a blissful workstation is the way to go.
