Dealing with Negative Gossip

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

I spent most of last week at the American Organization of Nurse Executives meeting talking with leaders across the country about a wide range of issues.  One young manager asked me to write a blog on how to best deal with negative gossip in units and departments when it “has gotten out of control”.  In this case, it was happening in a critical unit – which are generally smaller units where staff work closely together providing a potential breeding ground for unchecked negative gossip.  The manager said at first it seemed like a minor problem but now it was impacting team relationships in a negative way.  His questions were good ones.  He wondered how much gossip managers should tolerate among staff and when or if they should become involved in trying to stop it.

The problem with negative or malicious gossip is that it is like a virus that can take over and destroy a healthy work environment.  It often starts with one or two staff who are the ringleaders of the negative comments but can quickly spread as it is normalized into the culture.  Younger nurses may begin to participate to feel accepted.  Sometimes the participation is passive – just standing there listening to the conversation without commenting.  From a leadership standpoint, it is important to get involved because negative gossip impacts morale, decreases communication trust and leads to turnover.

Workforce Experts suggest the following leadership interventions:

• Deal directly with the major perpetrators – I once observed a manager who sent out an email to all her staff advising them that gossip would not be tolerated.  The problem with this approach is that you don’t get to the root of the problem – the unit perpetrators.  In an objective way, leaders should be direct with staff who demonstrate negative gossip behaviors.  Tell them that this is what I see and hear – here is why I am concerned.  Ask for their reaction to what you are saying.  They may become defensive and tell you that everyone does it.  Acknowledge that it has become a widespread problem and that is why you are having this conversation.  Then let them know that you need them to stop doing this because when you do – it creates a hostile work environment that could even result in patient safety issues.  Seek a commitment that they will not do this at work reassuring them that they are very valued employees.  Many nurses who engage in these behaviors have low self-esteem and use negative gossip to gain attention or create a me versus them environment so offer positive reinforcement when you see change.
• Bring up the topic of gossip at a staff meeting – Put the topic of negative gossip on your meeting agenda.  Remind staff that negative gossip is counterintuitive to everyone’s success.  Differentiate it from positive gossip by asking your team to give examples of both kinds of gossip that they have observed.  Ask how it has made them feel.  Let them know that you believe negative gossip has gotten out of control on the unit and you intend to promote a different type of culture on the unit.  Some managers have set up a Gossip Fine for Charity program to enable staff to call out behaviors that will result in fines.
• Replace negative gossip with positive gossip – You will never entirely get rid of gossip so why not look to replace the negative with the positive.  Let people know that they can and should gossip – about the good things.  Positive gossip is uplifting.
• Don’t gossip yourself  – Staff will look to you to model the way.  This means that you don’t gossip to others nor do you participate in negative gossip sessions.  If you have an inclination to gossip – work hard to stop doing it.  Sharing negative information about staff to other staff can have a devastating impact on morale.  Keeping the lines of communication open with staff can help alleviate negative gossip that is used to fill the void when there is a lack of information.  When you see negative gossip – stop it on the spot by telling the staff member that what they just said is not appropriate.