Reasons why Gossiping can Harm your Career
Have you heard? Gossip spreads like wildfire throughout tiny office microcosms all across the country. It’s human nature to gossip and to want to be “in the know” about your co-workers or bosses, and gossip can feel like a guilty pleasure. And while listening to the latest dish may not land you in trouble,gossipmost assuredly will.
Gossiping creates aenvironment.Any workplace rife with gossip and rumors, or that feels like high school, is typically a place that mature, successful adults prefer not to be. When covert conversations take precedence over weekly staff meetings, it creates a toxic and harmful environment for all and sends the brightest and most successful coworkers running for the hills and steering clear of the backbiting.
Gossiping increases workplace stress. Think for a moment about being the victim of workplace gossip. Would hurtful rumors spread about you increase your stress and anxiety when going to work? Chances are, the answer to that question is, “yes”. Harmless gossip can actually be more harmful than you may initially realize, and may even lead to someone quitting their job, or to the gossip spreader being fired.
Gossiping harms your relationships with co-workers. If you are a chronic gossiper, you might be the one everyone is talking about when you aren’t looking. Telling everyone what you know, might feel like fun, but you never know who might be friends with someone else, and how and when that gossip you spread will get back to them.
If someone will talk about someone else, they will probably talk about you too. Individuals who prize sharing the latest gossip, usually prize spreading it, regardless of who it hurts. Befriending the office gossip can mean your ending up in a spotlight you might not want to be in.
Gossiping can kill your chances for advancement. You might not think your bosses are on to the latest bit of office gossip, but they are typically more informed than you know. Gossiping about other coworkers and harming the synergy of your workplace lowers management’s opinion of you, making them less inclined to keep your name on the top of promotion lists.
When you go to work, it should be to work and not to gossip. Gossiping can hurt your career in more ways than one, and can actually put you on the fast track to career ruin. Remember that the next time someone wants to dish the latest juice about the woman over in cubicle number four, and then, turn around and walk away.
