The No Gossip Zone: A No-Nonsense Guide to a Healthy, High-Performing Work Environment

by Sam Chapman

Overview

The first business guide to address the leading challenge to workplace productivity and employee retention: gossip

Business leaders routinely cite gossip as one of the top problems their companies face in terms of productivity and employee retention. According to a recent study performed by Equisys, the average employee spends 65 hours a year gossiping at the office.

Luckily, there is a way to turn the tide and create a positive, productive work place…and it all begins with The No Gossip Zone. Sam Chapman, the owner of one of Chicago's top public relations firms, has found a way to curb the corrosive chatter and create an environment of fun, acceptance, and empowerment at work. The No Gossip program was created and honed in Chapman's firm, where employees rave about the results.

From clients to coworkers, gossip is outlawed and authentic communication is encouraged…and it feels great!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402247590
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	330 KB

About the Author

Sam Chapman is Chief Executive Officer of Empower Public Relations, Chicago's most accomplished new PR firm. Sam has appeared on national television programs, including Good Morning America and Your World with Neil Cavuto. His management techniques have been highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and BusinessWeek.

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review.

Chapman, CEO of a highly successful Chicago PR company, expands on an idea he first developed to fix what he thought was a minor office matter, and found it had astounding results for productivity, workplace happiness and business success: "In just one year of having a No-Gossip Zone and authentic communication policies in place, my clients doubled, as did my employees... and I was finally able to become the manager I always wanted to be." Far from the inevitable result of workplace interaction, Chapman sees "nothing 'natural' about communication that is hurtful," and puts a stop to it with mutual agreement among coworkers not to gossip, to discourage gossip when it's heard, and (perhaps most important of all) to share one's true feelings and thoughts honestly. Going into great detail, Chapman explains the manager's role in instigating cultural transformation in the office, using "authentic communication," feedback, "unarguable" speech and a sense of responsibility. A close, valuable look at a problem often taken for granted, this manual should help managers tamp down office drama and get back to work.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

Chapman (CEO, Empower Public Relations) offers a treatise on authentic communication. Convinced that office gossip leads to lower productivity, he proposes implementing a "no-gossip zone" (complete with formal agreements not to gossip and severe consequences for those employees who continue to engage in it). Chapman insists that the program results in more honest collaboration. Still, as this slim book is largely taken up with repeating basic ideas, it might have been better as an article. Not recommended.

Library Journal