If you want to dispel the anxiety growing in your workplace, build a foundation of trust built on communication. When times are tough, the workplace rumor mill swings into action act quickly. Therefore, managers need to communicate openly and honestly with employees to stop rumors in their tracks. Here are five tips to help managers ease employee anxiety.

1. Open Door Policy

As a senior leader, you need to be accessible and visible to your employees. When there is a problem, don’t wait until all the details of the solution have been fleshed out before informing your workers. Instead, inform them of your progress along the way as the decisions are being made. In uncertain times, it is more important than ever to be accessible. You’re not just there to share information with the workforce, but to build trust with them along the way, and dispel rumors as they spring up.

2. Don’t Keep Bad News a Secret

You have nothing to gain by withholding bad news from your employees – they know times are tough and that your business will have to adapt in order to survive. If you try to pretend that everything is perfect, your employees will lose their trust in you, and communication will become harder. Letting your employees know when changes need to be made is the best thing you can do to stop rumors. When employees trust you to tell them the bad news, they will stop believing office gossip and wait to hear the truth from you.

3. Aim to Give Personal Information

Its easy to deliver bad news via memos or e-mail communication. While personal communication takes more time, it is key to the continued productivity of your employees, which is a core priority. Studies have shown that trust is developed through face-to-face communication as well as that your message is more clearly understood via personal delivery methods. While there is always the chance that you are asked a question you don’t have a good answer to, this should not be an area of concern. Your employees are much less concerned with your perfection as they are with your honest effort to communicate directly and keep them in the loop.

4. Listen

It is a massive advantage of face-to-face conversations that the communication is two-way. Your employees may be able to suggest solutions that will help the situation, but this is not the only advantage of listening. Knowing that their thoughts and reactions have value to you will inspire your workforce, and will help them to feel a part of the company and with you as their manager.

5. Admit You Don’t Have All the Answers Yet

Talk as honestly as you can about what you do know and what you don’t. Your employees will recognize that you can’t know everything, and it will help to build trust and clarity if you explain why some details are still uncertain. Don’t make promises you can’t keep – if you are unsure, talk about probabilities and possibilities instead.

The only way to get the best out of your employees is through communication, the foundation of good management practice. Regardless of the company’s situation, make it a goal to always communicate openly, truthfully, and frankly.

Wendy Mack is a professional advisor, consultant, and author with a focus in leading and communicating change. Contact Wendy at, or get her free e-book, Transforming Anxiety into Energy at www.WendyMack.com.