Undermining in the workplace may happen due to insecurities felt by the offender. The offender may disparage the ideas of others in an attempt to make up for her own lack a creativity, or it may stem from a desire to feel powerful. Undermining in the workplace creates a negative atmosphere and hurts people's ability to do their jobs well. Undermining must be addressed openly with employees, and businesses must take a stance as to which behaviors are acceptable.
Discourage gossip. Undermining others in the workplace is often accomplished via seemingly casual conversation in which one person disparages another not present. Gossip is a difficult thing to control, but it must be addressed. Schedule a staff meeting to discuss the company's policy against gossip. Instruct employees to disregard gossip and consider leading a group discussion about why gossip is detrimental in the workplace.
Invite employees to meet with you if they have concerns. Be approachable. Let employees know that your door is open if they are concerned about hearing gossip in the workplace, if they feel they are being victimized and undermined or if they have any problem with another employee. Keep that open-door policy no matter what employees may want to discuss with you. Employees who feel a manager is listening will feel empowered instead of powerless and may have less incentive to lash out.
Meet privately and discreetly with a worker who may be undermining other workers. Some employees will listen and discuss the situation with you. These employees may be open to changing their behavior. Other employees, when confronted by management about their undermining behavior, will be unreceptive. If an employee walks away or refuses to discuss the issue, you may need to consider letting this person go.
Set firm boundaries regarding office procedures and job descriptions. This serves many purposes, including protection against undermining. Protect each job with some autonomy. For example, in a restaurant, waitresses often clean up the restaurant after closing. This is called "side work." Waitresses may complain about each other if some work quickly and others work slowly, or if some are trying to do a good job and others are cutting corners. If you divide the side work among the waitresses, then each waitress is only responsible for her own tasks. There is less motivation for undermining because the fast-working waitresses can leave when they are finished and the careful cleaners know they will not be held responsible for somebody else cutting corners. Firm boundaries negate some undermining behaviors.
Post policies publicly. Communicate both verbally and in writing with all employees about what the company policies are about undermining behaviors. Post these policies on a wall in the break room or common area. That way, employees cannot claim they were unaware that certain behaviors were not allowed.