Ohhh girl, I wish I had some suggestions. I’m just chiming in to let you know I’m dealing with this as well. It’s nice to hear some of your co-workers are actually aware of the problem. The people I work with (it’s really only two out of about 20) seem to be completely oblivious. I think it’s sweet that you want to give them some guidance on how to cut out the gossip…I think the best thing you can probably do is just lead by example. As you know, you are only in control of your own actions. If they want to continue the gossip, that’s on them. I struggle with this daily…it makes my work environment pretty shitty sometimes to be honest, but I am recognizing that’s just because of MY feelings and interpretations of what’s going on. I find myself either being true to myself and stepping out of conversations that turn gossipy and then feeling paranoid that they’re talking about me or think I’m stuck up because I won’t participate. OR getting involved in the gossip more than I would like and then feeling crummy about myself afterwards. I’ve decided I definitely prefer just being true to myself and dealing with whatever insecurities my non-participation brings about. As we both know, this is an unfortunate dynamic of any office environment. Until I can figure out how to become independently wealthy, I am just going to have to use this annoyance as a mechanism for personal growth. Which can be So. Challenging. lol.

Oh! I just had an idea…since your co-workers are aware of and want to change the problem, could you have something like a swear jar? Any time one of you starts gossiping, you all call each other out and the gossiper has to put a dime or something in a jar? Just a thought…

Good luck 🙂