When Your Boss Takes Sides How to Handle a Supervisor Who Gossips

Episode 20 tackles a toxic workplace dynamic that's rarely discussed: the boss who gossips with subordinates. Lucas shares data from a 2025 Society for Human Resource Management survey showing that 23 percent of employees have witnessed a manager sharing confidential information about one team member with another. He breaks down the psychological mechanism — triangulation — and why it's especially dangerous when a boss does it. The episode walks through three concrete scenarios: a boss who complains about another employee to you, a boss who shares your private feedback with others, and a boss who uses gossip to pit team members against each other. For each scenario, Lucas provides a scripted verbal response that stops the behavior without escalating conflict. Luna pushes back on whether these scripts actually work in practice, and Lucas offers a real-world example from a former colleague at a Fortune 500 retailer. They discuss when the situation is salvageable versus when it signals a systemic culture problem that warrants an exit. The episode closes with a question: how do you rebuild trust with colleagues after a boss has gossiped about you? #BossGossip #WorkplaceToxic #ManagingUp #Triangulation #OfficePolitics #CareerSurvival #DifficultBoss #WorkplaceBoundaries #ProfessionalCommunication #SHRM #Fortune500 #TeamDynamics #TrustAtWork #Careers #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeRelations #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo