2018-2019 Grant in Aid of Research

Creating a Gossip-free Early Childhood Program

Nicole Benoit-Roy

"To create and maintain a climate of trust and candor that will enable staff to speak and act in the best interests of children, families, and the field of early childhood care and education" (NAEYC, 2015, p. 6). Research shows that workplace gossip in early childhood development programs causes employees to sink into depression, become subjects of suspicion by their superiors, decrease work productivity, suffer emotional distress, and be marginalized and mistreated by coworkers. Bruno (2007) notes that, “gossip creates a work environment that is mean-spirited and impacts morale” (p. 27). Employees who have been the victims of gossip in the workplace describe the situation as demoralizing, degrading, demeaning, and possibly leading to a loss of employment. Concerns regarding gossip in the workplace were expressed by "more than 700 early childhood professionals across the country" (Bruno, 2007) who were polled about this issue. The poll showed that the majority of the respondents named gossip, backbiting, catfights, or power struggles as part of the workplace dynamics. "Three times more respondents named destructive dynamics than named constructive dynamics such as friendship, caring, humor, or empathy. Only 12 percent listed both destructive and constructive dynamics” (p. 28).