DO NOT FRET OVER GOSSIP, USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Sep 08, 2009

Does your workplace have a ‘gossip-in-chief’? No matter how professional your work environment may seem, gossip is probably as common as meetings and e-mail.

By Rebecca Harshbarger

Does your workplace have a ‘gossip-in-chief’? No matter how professional your work environment may seem, gossip is probably as common as meetings and e-mail.

While you may find it hard to keep up with the constant shuffle of staff and company changes, there is always someone keeping tabs — or even spinning the information in a distorted way. After all, gossip may be one of the oldest forms of human activities.

“There isn’t much you can do about gossiping,” says Paul Nyende, a psychologist at Makerere University’s Institute of Psychology. As much as you might feel uncomfortable with being gossiped about, you can probably remember the last time you listened into a rumour — or worse, passed one along.

Part of human nature is the need to form and create links with each other, to socialise, praise and criticise. Gossiping and sharing information can bring you closer to your workmates.

Although it is easy to condemn gossiping as mean-spirited, Nyende says: “If you don’t know what’s going on, gossip can top you up with info.” But such information is often distorted.

There might be a hint of truth in a conversation some workmates are too eager to offer — but too often, it is wrapped up in someone’s suspicions, rather than facts.

How do you balance the desire to stay professional with the human need to bond and share information? The best way is to make sure the information you share is constructive. It is okay to discuss your workmates — in fact, it would be impossible not to. But make sure the tone and words you use are constructive, rather than harmful. They should add value to a conversation.

Tips
- When interacting with your colleagues, try to come off as approachable and friendly. If people feel too intimidated to discuss an issue with you, they might resort to gossip.

- Although an e-mail or chat may feel private, it is not. Whatever you say in a message sent to a colleague can easily be forwarded or printed.

- Although it can be controlled to a certain degree through a supportive and open office culture, gossip is inevitable. Use it to your advantage: many managers can be secretive about the direction a company is taking. Weed through bad gossip and information to find useful nuggets of truth.

- When you share information about yourself, ask yourself how you would feel if everyone in your department knew? Keep personal details for friends outside the job. Don’t close yourself off, but filter the information you share.

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