Whether it involves the latest company rumor or people's personal lives, workplace gossip is hard to tame. The average employee spends 65 hours a year gossiping at the office, according to a survey conducted by Equisys, a business communications company.

 Words are powerful. 
They can be used to inspire us like Martin Luther King, Jr. did.  Or they can be used destructively. The most careless use of the spoken word is gossip. It can tarnish reputations, destroy friendships, reduce morale, and affect productivity. No longer do people need to use hushed voices to exchange rumors and juicy tidbits of other people's lives. Now anyone can create a "virtual water cooler" using e-mail, instant messaging and internet blogs. The speed at which gossip can spread makes it all the more insidious.

Gossip can sound like:
~ "Did you hear about Christine's divorce?"
~ "I just heard Terry was reprimanded."
~ "I heard on her last job that she was (fill in the blank)."
~ "Have you met the new person? Just between you and I..."

 In a recent survey, the American Society for Training and Development reported that:
~ 85 percent of people admitted to gossiping in the workplace.
~ 21 percent of the 85% reported gossiping on a frequent basis.
~ 64 percent of the 85% admitted to gossiping at work "sometimes."

Gossip can ruin people's lives and reputations.  It tends to snowball because people start projecting things onto the person who's being talked about, whether it is true or not.

According to a November 2007 survey by Randstad USA and Harris Interactive, 60 percent of respondents named gossip as their biggest pet peeve about their job. If it's so distasteful, why do we do it?

What Can You Do?
Here are some ideas to consider:

1. Walk away. When the conversation turns to gossip, excuse yourself and walk away. Without wood, a fire goes out.

 2. Be impeccable with your word. Monitor your own conversations with others. Assess your true motive for participating in conversations.  Speak with integrity. You will earn followers and admirers whether you want to or not.

 3. Be loyal to those not in the room. If Mike is speaking negatively about Lori, ask him to stop, and suggest he speak with Lori instead of speaking about her. When you gossip you undermine your own credibility because people know you will talk about them when their back is turned.

 4. Educate. Hold mini-workshops on the destructive impact of gossip. Remind people how gossip can hurt the work team and the organization. Often, all people need is a gentle reminder.

 5. Confront the gossiper. Make it clear that the gossip has to stop. If you are the leader, people are looking to you to handle any disruptive workplace behavior. If you don't, you risk losing their respect.

 6. Implement a policy on gossip or add language to your existing harassment policy.  Of course, policies alone won't work; they turn to dust and smoke when leaders fail to enforce them.

 7. Examine systemic issues. Gossip often proliferates when people have too much time on their hands. If they aren't staying busy, you may need to find out why.

 Most gossip is done at an unconscious level, by well-meaning people who believe they are just carrying on a conversation.  However, left unchecked, gossip can lead to low morale, decreased productivity, reduced quality of work, high turnover and unmet customer expectations.