Question

Why should employees be wary of participating in the grapevine in a business

Answer 1

First, we need to understand what grapevine means in business communication. Therefore, grapevine communication is a form of informal communication within a business organization, in other words, information is never accurate with grapevine, and this will certainly pose a threat to any business, remember, effective communication is an integral part of any organization.

Below are some of the reasons why managers should be wary of grapevine communication

1) Communications through grapevines are often not trustworthy as it is an unofficial way of communication.

2) It might cause a hostile environment between lower level staff and the executives, for instance, a colleague tells you that the boss is not happy with your work, or that your boss said he doesn't like you, this might be false, and it might affect your attitude towards your boss.

3) It can lead to discouraging news, which can then affect productivity.  Imagine a story flying around the office, that management wants to retrench workers or wants to approve salary cut, now if this information is false, so many people within the lower level staff, will get discouraged, or get unnecessarily worried, this will certainly affect there work rate.

 Managers are often advised to be wary of grapevine within an organization, however, managers should note that grapevine cannot be eliminated from any organization, but it can be minimized if managers engage in effective communication with their employees.