By Keisha Smith
Online Career Tips Staff

Every office has a certain amount of gossip that permeates its culture. Water cooler chat cycles through everything from what staff member is leaving and who’s getting promoted, to who’s dating who on the down low, who’s pregnant and who shuts down for the day a little too early. Although it’s naive to think that an office can be totally rid of such banter, there are definitely ways to help slow down its reach.
As a manager, you can’t expect to be in tune with every single conversation that happens. So, it’s important to provide guidance to your staff about what they can (and should) do themselves when faced with such situations. Here are a few tips.

1. Walk away. When the “how is your weekend” conversation starts to take a turn to the dark side, politely excuse yourself and go on with your day. If you’re consistent enough with doing this, you’ll find that the gossip stops when you’re around. Don’t take offense when that starts to happen. You’ll be glad that any misguided rumors won’t be traceable back to you.
2. Change the subject. Walking away from the conversation is not always going to be an option. When that’s the case, try shifting the topic to something neutral. An abrupt change in subject should send a hint to the colleague that you’re not interested in hearing his or her spin on the weekly drama.
3. Be direct. Just straight up tell the person that you’re not comfortable with the conversation and would rather steer clear of that type of talk in the future.
4. Tell Someone. Let your staff know that it’s OK for them to come to you, or the HR department and discuss in confidence anything that may be causing tension in the office.

Even though it seems pretty obvious, in the end, it’s important to stress to your team that gossiping in the office, about whatever, is never a good idea. It’s toxic and can really demoralize team dynamics causing an inefficient workplace.