My boss shared some information with me today about a coworker that didn’t present him in a good light. None of the info was a shocker, but it was enough to make me go “dayum!” I’m trying to figure out if it was unprofessional for my boss to share this information with me or if perhaps she was just using his situation as a “teachable moment” for me.
What is your opinion on office/workplace gossip? I know that for me, I have learned some useful professional “dos and don’ts” by staying connected to the grapevine. I always avoid personal gossip. But I do find myself curious about the office backstories that have the potential to affect me and my work. Also, there’s so many rules that are unspoken in the workplace; sometimes it’s hard to know what’s acceptable and what isn’t. The way I see it, I benefit by knowing if a coworker has gotten in trouble for an offense that I might be guilty of doing, or one day might do.
But I’ve also been taught to view gossip as a horrible thing that only catty people engage in.
Usually the person that is talking about someone behind their back is eventually going to talk about you behind your back, at least that’s what my experience has been.
My rule of thumb has always been if management is delivering the gossip, pay attention and keep anything you’ve been told to yourself.
Ordinary everyday gossip? Watch your back and keep anything you hear to yourself unless management asks you about it. If that happens, only discuss things in a private office.
I find office gossip to be a helpful tool if used properly. I keep my ears open and my mouth shut. Everyone knows that about me, so I’m often used as a conduit for information someone might want management to know but doesn’t want to tell them personally. I never reveal my sources or disclose any information that would identify the source of the gossip, but I’ve been able to head off some serious problems by acting on gossip before it became fact.
As always, it’s a mistake to take everything verbatim, but if you start hearing similar information from different sources, it’s generally worth investigating.