ALT-1 How to Cope with the Office Gossip
Humans are naturally social animals. It is because they are social animals, and care about one another, that they have been so successful. It is natural for people to take a friendly interest in one another, and this is so in the office. When someone perverts that friendly interest into speculative and salacious gossip, it becomes harmful. Such gossip harms reputations, and mars careers, although it is often untrue. Coping with gossip in the office is difficult, especially if you are the one gossiped about, but there are ways that you can cope with office gossip.
As with any problem in the office, look first to your own behaviour, before you judge others. Do you gossip about other people? Do you listen to nasty gossip? If you do, you are part of the problem, be part of the solution instead. Do not gossip about other people. When you are with a group of colleagues and the talk changes from friendly interest in a person, to nasty gossip, be the one who changes the subject.
Do not feed the gossip; be discreet about your private life. The whole office does not need to know every single detail of your romantic date on Saturday night, become an expert at edited highlights.
There is always someone in every office that everyone knows is the office gossip. You cannot change someone else’s behaviour but you can change your own reaction to it, and that can sometimes bring forth the desired behaviour from the other person. When the gossip stops at your desk, to impart the latest scandal, act as though you have not heard her speak, and pass a pleasant remark. Gossips do what they do, because they want a reaction from the person to whom they are telling their latest tidbit, if you do not react at all, you do not give him, or her, what they need and you startle them. If they persist in trying to tell some scandal, excuse yourself, and say “I am sorry, but I am so busy and must get this finished”. Then put your head down and work. In extremis, you might have to invent an urgent errand to take you out of the situation, but it is important not to give the gossip any reaction to the juicy plum, at all. If the gossip does not get anything from gossiping, there is no point in doing so and they might voluntarily stop.
A gossip culture can creep up on any office, without workers necessarily realizing that it has got so bad. It creates a negative atmosphere, hurts people and makes them unhappy. An unhappy atmosphere, in the office, lowers people’s productivity and self-esteem. By attacking the root problem, instead of treating the symptoms, you could alter the culture within the office. Other workers may have also wanted to tackle the problem but have not known how to go about it. Your example may inspire them too and if they emulate it, your office will become a more pleasant place to work.
