Guilty Gossips on Channel 9 Today Extra
Topic: Guilty Gossips
Presenters and Hosts: David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys
Workplace Expert and Author in Perth: Sue Ellson
Date: 20 November 2025 at 9:50am
Show: Today Extra
Television Station: Channel 9’s Today Extra Show, National Australian Television
Appearance Number: 21
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUOyev0orBA
Time: 00:03:54
On Wednesday 20 November 2025, I appeared on Channel 9’s Today Extra show to talk about gossip in the workplace.
Transcript
Welcome back. It’s the common pastime. We’re all guilty of it one time or another. But what you would say if what would you say if we told you that workplace gossip, right, it’s now illegal. Lock me up.
New South Wales. But seriously we’re going to jail. And other states have introduced laws to prevent psychosocial hazards. Mmm. Which includes bullying, excessive workloads, and malicious gossip or rumors and from December 1, Victoria will adopt similar regulations.
So, here to walk us through the ins and the outs is Workplace Expert and Author Sue Ellson.
Sue, we laugh. Um, but this is quite serious, isn’t it? Break it all down for us. Is gossiping at work actually illegal?
Yes, good question. Well, if you are constantly targeting a particular person or group of people and it’s repeated behavior, then yes, that is going to be illegal. It’s going to come under the Fair Work Act and it could be classified as bullying, harassment or even discrimination. So yes, if it’s really targeted and people are feeling unsafe, then definitely that is going to be cause for concern.
And so it should.
Yes.
I think that’s absolutely right. However, what is the difference then and who delineates what’s just like general chatter at the workplace?
Mmm.
What someone might be taking offence from but isn’t meant to be offensive and hurtful gossip. You know what I mean?
Mmm.
Like we’re now we’re looking at like whose truths is the truth.
Yes, it can be hard to tell in some situations. Look, if if somebody is starting to feel unsafe by what’s being said, they’re starting to withdraw from meetings, you’re noticing a change in their behaviour, then obviously that’s more likely to be psychosocially unsafe and it’s going to reduce trust in the workplace, respect, even productivity.
So if it’s leading to those kinds of behaviours, then you could probably say, “Yeah, we’re going too far with the conversation here.”
And also, you know, when you’re in a place and all of a sudden people go quiet when you walk past. Mmm. You know, there’s that terrible feeling of, “Oh, I think they’re talking about me.” So.
Yeah. So being out in a way. What would be your advice then to employers and people in management. Mmm. On how exactly to measure this gossiping behavior and enforce the appropriate consequences?
Yes. Well, I definitely do not recommend cameras with AI tools to, you know, monitor what you’re saying in the workplace. Obviously, if HR is starting to get complaints, managers are getting complaints, there has been that drop in productivity.
Uh, as I said before, maybe people are not contributing as much, there’s higher turnover, worst case workers compensation claims or even lodgements with the Fair Work Commission, then you’ve got a pretty good clue that things are are not going too well.
What if it you’re not the butt of the gossip for want of a better term, but you can hear people gossiping about a situation or a person? Is it what actions can you take if you’re employed somewhere?
Well, I definitely think you need to call it out. Obviously, you need to be the adult in the room.
Yep.
And say, “Look, I don’t think that’s appropriate.” There are some organisations now who are actually developing acceptable behaviours, above the line and below the line behaviours and they have a little training session and we all agree what is acceptable behaviour what’s unacceptable behaviour.
But you might also like to change the narrative and turn around and say why don’t we do positive gossip? Why don’t we talk about our wins and the things that are going well? And then that way we can sort of swing the needle towards that positive confirmation of of different things that are going on rather than focusing on the negatives.
And also be really careful about who you gossip about because obviously people bring that up again. It’s time for a promotion. They might bag you behind your back. And I’ve always had that belief that well if they’re gossiping about somebody else then they’re probably going to be gossiping about you at some later point. So you definitely don’t want to encourage that gossip.
Sue, great advice. Thanks Sue. Thanks for clearing it all up for us. See you soon.
References
Office gossip is now against the law. (But you didn’t hear that from me)
https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/office-gossip-is-now-against-the-law-but-you-didn-t-hear-that-from-me-20251109-p5n8ww.html
Shared Online
GUILTY GOSSIPS // Have you ever gossiped at work? 🤔At present, under the Australian Fair Work Act, if you repeatedly share gossip towards a person or group and they feel unsafe at work, it could lead to claims for bullying, harassment or discrimination.
With new state laws on psychosocial hazards coming into effect in some states across Australia in the near future, you may like to be a little bit more careful about what you say about your colleagues to other colleagues.
I discuss these issues in this short segment on Channel Nine’s Today Extra with David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys, produced by Jasmin Williams.
The main suggestions include:
✅ gossiping can reduce trust, respect and productivity in the workplace
✅ employers need to watch out for changes in behaviour and participation at work, increases in complaints or employee turnover, and rises to workers compensation claims and applications to the Fair Work Commission
✅ as individuals, be prepared to call out gossip and be the adult in the room and say that it is unacceptable
✅ consider some workplace training where you identify acceptable (above the line) and unacceptable (below the line) behaviours and make this known to everyone
✅ consider creating ‘Positive Gossip Sessions’ where you can celebrate one another’s good news and change the workplace narrative
✅ remember that if someone is gossiping about someone else, they may be gossiping about you to others
A transcript, details and reference links are online at https://sueellson.com/blog/guilty-gossips-on-channel-9-today-extra
#psychosocialhazards #gossip #sueellson
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