Well. It's called chatter. That will either happen over the watercooler, or it will happen over text. The only problem is that off the cuff remarks can be part of the permanent record now. But otherwise, they should be harmless.
And also... maybe go fix the problems people are "bearish" about? (also what's this stock market lingo doing here)
> The problematic employee, the employee who would sit around at the lunchroom and tell people how bad this place is
Well, maybe the place IS bad. And if they are bitching about it, they may still care – employees who have "checked out" won't complain nearly as much (or at all), while looking elsewhere. Or maybe they are just venting and had a bad week. Or it's a cry for help. If the place weren't as bad, other employees could help the person.
> and it’s amplifying.
Oh, so other people agree with the person too? Maybe there is a problem indeed.