Stop Being the Office Snitch

I am pretty confident in saying that 99% of every organization has an office busybody or in urban vernacular, office snitch. You know what I am talking about, the person that runs and tells everything that they hear and see to leadership (management) and gossips about it with other team members. This one person (or people, if you have several within the organization) can hurt team cohesiveness. Now, this is not a person who is reporting illegal or unethical behavior, this is the person who is reporting every little thing team members are doing. Who came back from lunch late? Who was on their cell phone out in the parking lot? Who is having marital problems?

Being the office busybody is not a good thing. People tend not to trust you and will go out of their way to exclude in things. You must ask yourself, what purpose do you get out of being a tattletale? (Again, I am not talking about reporting illegal or unethical behavior.)

Leadership, you have a responsibility to nip this in the bud. If you have a team member that is constantly in your office telling you the goings on of the team, you need to question how much work they are getting done as they have so much time to report on others. Do not sit there and form an opinion on your team based on the “opinion” of one person. How much “power” the office busybody has is a direct reflection of you as a leader. You should not be obtaining information on your team through water cooler comments.

What can be done to shut down the office busybody? Tell him or her to sit down, focus on their own assignment(s) and stop investigating their peers. If there is something going on in the office that you are aware of and have not addressed, do so immediately. This takes away the “power” of the busybody. You know that Tim comes back from lunch 15 minutes late everyday but you also know that Tim comes in a half hour earlier than everyone and stays a half hour later than everyone. One sure way to shut gossip and busybodies down is to send out a general email that highlights how much you know. For example:

Hello everyone,

It has come to my attention that some of you are concerned about the schedule of some of our team members. Please know that I am aware of what is being said and I think it is in everyone’s best interest to focus on their own work schedule and duties.

I do not like having to take time to address office hearsay; however, I also do not want misinformation to affect our team. I treat you all like the professionals you are and I expect you to do the same with each other. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to see me.

You have stated that you know what is being said and stated the behavior you expect to see in the future. You cannot let gossip and misinformation spread, it can hurt your team and create an environment not conducive to creativity, openness, and workmanship.

If you are reading this and wondering if you are the office busybody, ask yourself these two questions:

1. Do I make it my business to know what everyone is doing and where they are going?

2. Do I make it my business to let my supervisor (management/leadership) know what is going on no matter what it is?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, you are the office busybody. Sit down and focus on your own work.

#leadership #teamdevelopment