We’ve all done it, I suppose, we’ve all gossiped at work, and perhaps even condemned it. But, it’s important to realize that gossip exists within workplace communication because it serves a purpose.

It’s perfectly natural for the human being in us to speculate about the what and the why when we have incomplete information and want ‘closure’. In other words, we try to guess at both facts and motivations. It’s as if we’re staring at a jigsaw puzzle and trying to mentally fill in the picture. We can’t help but try to guess what those missing pieces might show us.

A lack of facts or information makes us uncertain, and prompts us to extrapolate from known facts, or to guess at them. After all, if we knew all the facts or all the motivations, we would be certain and confident of our knowledge.

Since we’re uncertain, it’s also natural to exchange our speculative ideas with others, and of course that’s how gossip starts. “Here’s what I think….” you say, and the person you’re with counters, “No I think…” Or perhaps, the person with whom you’re speaking has discussed this issue with someone else, and counters, “Jane told me….”

The latter brings us to the informal networking aspect of gossip within the context of employee communication. The speculative ideas of many people begin to circulate and interact with each other. Over time, the core ideas may begin to coalesce, giving us what might be called an ‘institutional’ view on the issue.

So, let’s learn to accept that gossip is not necessarily the musings of malicious people. Instead, let’s come to see it as a natural inclination among all of us to try to understand the personal and organizational situations in which we find ourselves.

Still, if you’d like to curtail the gossip in your workplace, you’ll need to start by eliminating information gaps. That’s relatively easy for organizational matters: Normal workplace communication vehicles such as meetings, newsletters, and memos can provide information that either fills the information void or at least steers opinions in the right direction.

Dealing with personal gossip is a much greater challenge. After all, only the person who’s the target of the gossip can provide the ‘facts’ and most of us are hesitant to provide that information. After all, why should we be held hostage to misinformation, whether malicious or well intentioned?

In summary, gossip is a natural organizational communication phenomenon. It is more likely driven by a lack of information, a desire to fill information voids, and uncertainty than by maliciousness among coworkers.