How Do You Handle Office Gossip When It Feels Like You're the Target?

I am working in an FMCG company. Please advise me on how to tackle office gossip. I am becoming the victim of office gossip. My peers who are maligning me do not provide facts when questioned. One of my colleagues always backbites about everyone but praises the person in front.

I have also brought to the notice of senior management any non-adherence and lack of cooperation for work through emails. If I speak up, I am getting a bad reputation for being aggressive and furious.

Please suggest how to deal with the above situations.

Regards,
Jyothsna

I agree, office gossip isn't beneficial. It can lead employees to worry about layoffs that aren't true and make work unproductive.

Please consider the following, which I personally follow when such gossip occurs:

- If a gossip is untrue or callous and affects your morale, you should intervene. If you think it is flippant, just ignore it.
- If you are directly affected by gossip that you find inappropriate, inform the Human Resources team, an immediate supervisor, or the Head of Department. As the saying goes, "Keep personal life out of professional life," as personal hearsay can ruin a career. You can be directly involved if you encounter the gossip. Unless it is a corporate issue, escalate it to your supervisor immediately. It is necessary to clarify the real story to dispel false rumors.
- Give them plenty of work to do if they start chit-chatting (creating a room for gossiping). Let them know that you don't care about their amateur back-biting, so pay no attention to such behavior.

I hope this will definitely help you, as I have followed these steps myself.

Regards

Thank you for your inputs. I actually ignore many office gossips, and I did bring to the notice of my immediate manager the issues that are spoiling my reputation, but that has not made much difference. In fact, every time I raise my voice, which I found is not correct, I am labeled as a person making an issue. I think the need of the hour is to keep quiet, behave carefully, wait, and watch.

Many thanks once again.

Regards,
Jyothsna

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I agree office gossips aren't a good influence. They can lead employees to worry about layoffs that were never true and can make work non-productive. Please consider the following steps which I personally follow when dealing with gossip:

- Consider if a gossip is untrue or callous and affecting your morale, then you should intervene. If you think it is flippant, just disregard it. If you are the direct victim of hearing gossip that you find inappropriate, inform the Human Resources team, an immediate supervisor, or the HOD. Remember, personal hearsay can ruin a career. If you are directly involved in the gossip, unless it is a corporate issue, escalate it to your supervisor immediately. It is essential to clarify the real story and put away false rumors.

- Give them extra work to do if they start chit-chatting (a room for gossiping). Let them know that you don't care about their amateur backbiting, so pay no attention to such behavior.

I hope this will definitely help you as I have followed these steps myself.