--- title: "Back-Channel Complaining: The Problem With Office Gossip" id: "22181" type: "post" slug: "back-channel-complaining-the-problem-with-office-gossip" published_at: "2014-03-20T17:49:33+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:24:49+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/03/20/back-channel-complaining-the-problem-with-office-gossip/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/03/20/back-channel-complaining-the-problem-with-office-gossip.md" excerpt: "Why back-channel complaining about co-workers is toxic—and why fixing it rests on not only your culture, but the individuals inside that office. Also: What makes the Drupal Association really tick." taxonomy_category: - "Ethics" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "employee behavior" - "Leadership" - "office culture" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Executive Team" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Back-Channel Complaining: The Problem With Office Gossip You know the toxicity when you hear it. The griping. The complaining. The veiled (or not-so-veiled) criticism of a coworker. Given too much breathing room, it can severely damage your work environment. So, how do you stop it? At the organizational level, [says consultant and speaker Joe Gerstandt, (opens in a new tab)](http://www.joegerstandt.com/2014/03/employees-talk/) we need to create a culture that discourages such backbiting. And that goes beyond the office. “The first responsibility is on the organization, with special emphasis on management for making it safe to speak up, for making it safe to surface contradictions, ask questions, and challenge decisions as long as it is done respectfully,” he writes. “But there also has to be responsibility on the part of employees, to talk to each other, not about each other.” Gerstandt’s stance on how he’d ideally punish the behavior may seem a little extreme: He bluntly says that were he the boss, he’d make back-channel complaining a fireable offense. But his overall point is sound. “We make it far too easy for competent adults to walk away from each other, and in doing so we just invite more drama,” he writes. How would you solve this problem in your office? ### More on Drupal **Recently, we noted** that the Drupal Association, a group focused on helping to expand the reach of the popular open-source content management system, [hit a milestone](http://associationsnow.com/2014/03/million-strong-association-behind-drupals-massive-install-base/) . In a follow-up interview, Deeson Member Communications’ Emily Turner got a chance to chat up Holly Ross, the association’s executive director. Check out the video interview above, and [learn more about the association over this way (opens in a new tab)](http://deeson-mc.co.uk/blog/articles/dmc-interview-drupal-association) . ### Other GOOD READS **If security matters to you,** check out [this list of sites that do and don’t support two-factor authentication (opens in a new tab)](http://twofactorauth.org/) , compiled by a sharp computer science student named Josh Davis. Fun fact: Most social networks do, but most finance sites don’t. **Lowell Aplebaum shares** some tips on how to [maximize your volunteers’ potential (opens in a new tab)](http://association141.blogspot.com/2014/03/association-volunteer-maximum-potential.html) . **Good news for Dropbox users** stuck with multiple accounts for personal and business use: Soon, you’ll be able to link them together [with a single login, TabTimes reports (opens in a new tab)](http://tabtimes.com/news/ittech-cloud-services/2014/03/18/dropbox-will-soon-let-you-link-business-and-personal-accounts) . **Who cares about likes?** According to *CMSWire*, there are other Facebook metrics [that really matter (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/forget-likes-these-are-the-3-facebook-metrics-to-watch-024547.php) . (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#employee behavior](https://associationsnow.com/tag/employee-behavior/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#office culture](https://associationsnow.com/tag/office-culture/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [PodcastSecuring Identity: What Associations Need to Know About Verifiable CredentialsJune 25, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/06/25/securing-identity-what-associations-need-to-know-about-verifiable-credentials/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F03%2F20%2Fback-channel-complaining-the-problem-with-office-gossip%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !