"Have you ever heard?" If it's not about gossip, the floor radio in companies often brings bad news - especially in times of crisis. Can employees escape the negative maelstrom?
Economists expect a recession, inflation weighs on companies. Tech companies are laying off tens of thousands worldwide and also cutting jobs in Germany. If the economy is in crisis, fears will increase among employees. A lot of negative information is then passed on via the corridor radio: Does my employer still get orders at all? Will jobs be cut, will I even have a job in the near future?
In an interview, coach Birgit Kersten-Regenstein gives tips on how to deal with company rumors.
Ms. Kersten-Regenstein, how and why is corridor radio actually created?
Birgit Kersten-Regenstein: When it comes to radio communication, it's often about issues related to working together and monetary or personal issues. Rumors about personnel changes, disharmony on the board of directors or figures and data from the company are typical. How is the employer? Are the orders going back? Will budget be canceled?
Various influences can fuel such rumors and the floor radio. On the one hand, everything that happens outside of the company - such as the war, the energy crisis or the consequences of the pandemic and the isolation in the home office. This is a situation in which employees come into contact with their own fear scenarios a lot anyway. A supposedly negative news about the company falls on nutrient-rich ground. This can quickly appear realistic and leads to a rumor spreading.
Last but not least, executives themselves or the management play a role. A vacuum is created where the status quo is not passed on in the company. The employees fill this out with the information emerging in the background that they think they can observe.
All in all, a rumor must always be relevant enough for it to be passed on. But then it's like a feather pillow that bursts open when it hits it. The topic spreads widely in the company and is not so easy to catch again.
How do I know if a rumor is actually true?
Personal responsibility is required here. I have to check: Who is the rumor coming from, how relevant is it and who could possibly be a suitable counter-informant? For example, a trusted colleague, the manager or the works council. That helps me as a kind of quick check.
You can also debate rumors in your own peer groups, but ultimately you have to follow your gut feeling and deal with the individual pieces of information. If supposedly bad news affects me, I can check where it comes from and get counter-theses from people who are well informed.
How do employees find a good way to deal with rumours? Can you describe that in more detail?
What I hear over the corridor radio always falls on my own melee situation. If the topic has a certain relevance for me and corresponds to my gut feeling, I am more open to it and like to pursue it. If I am not receptive to fear scenarios or threats myself, a rumor or a negative message cannot affect me that much. If I really have a stomach ache about something, I can't just let myself be carried away by it.
I listen to company rumors or gossip during a certain time frame, but the rest of the time I avoid the hall radio. Listeners can also become confrontational themselves if they doubt what has been said. For example, if someone approaches me to use me as a multiplier, I can stand up and show integrity. This may offend you at first, but in the long run you benefit from not simply jumping on a rumor, but standing up for your own beliefs and values.
Bad news on the radio can also have an alarm character and serve as a compass for considering how I want to behave towards the company in the future. If negative news turns out to be true for my company, I have to ask myself to what extent it affects me. Does that have something to do with my area of responsibility? Or with my team and the structure? Or is it all about the company and existential questions?
Then I think about what I can actually influence. The financial situation: hardly. Management decisions: hardly. If my tasks are to change, I have to check how much I am in demand in my own design sovereignty. If I can't design anything myself, the question remains: do I want to endure it or not? In the end I can always decide to go. But staying is also a decision. But then I can't complain.
About the person: Birgit Kersten-Regenstein already dealt with the topic of conflict research during her studies in political science. In her coaching, the trainer has been advising companies and executives for many years, including on topics such as communication, conflict management and self-presentation.
