Dealing with Office Gossip

Nearly every company has one of them: the office gossip. This person can be anyone working in a support or managerial position. This is the person who seems to have the dirt on every employee and company situation. This person also tends to tell far-fetched tales about co-workers' professional and personal lives. We quickly learn to take everything the office scandalmonger says with a grain of salt.

However, there are times when rumors about mergers, company lay-offs or downsizing spread like wildfire, and we have a hard time determining whether or not the office buzz is truth or simply unfounded paranoia. If your company keeps the lines of communication wide open, these rumors can quickly be defused in a short meeting with senior management. Unfortunately, some companies don't communicate openly with their employees, so workers often have nothing to rely on besides office hearsay and chitchat.

The following are some beneficial tips to help you separate fact from rumor and avoid destructive office gossip:

Keep work conversations on track

Oftentimes, an innocent work-related conversation can quickly slip into gossip about Bob's undeserved promotion or Sarah's fling with the mailroom guy. Pay close attention to your office dialogue to ensure that your conversation remains work-focused. If you feel that a discussion has moved away from professional subjects, excuse yourself from the conversation.

Keep your eyes open

If the company gossip is focused on impending lay-offs, don't take it as fact. Look for signs of change around the office before you assume the rumors are true. For example, if your manager is spending exorbitant amounts of time in meetings with HR or strange outside "business consultants," this could be a sign that a downsizing is imminent. However, if everything seems business as usual, the rumors probably aren't true.

Ask for sources

If your co-worker shares some seemingly implausible office information with you, be sure to ask her where she heard the story. If she got her information from George the gossip king, you may have to decide how much to believe. However, if she says she received information from other connections, then it very well could be fact.

Talk to your manager

If you continually hear gossip about lay-offs or any other changes in the department, simply ask your manager. Most likely, he or she knows about any major changes and can provide some information.

Don't get involved

As soon as you join in on the gossip, you begin to destroy your credibility around the office. Not to mention the risk of losing your job if gossip becomes to distracting.

When you hear office gossip, don't spread it down the grapevine. Instead, take a few minutes to determine if the rumors are office truth or simply unfounded paranoia. Then consider how the gossip impacts you. In most situations when you take time to consider what you heard, you will quickly realize that gossip is simply chitchat and there is no need to get involved.

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