Gossip And The Workplace

Gossip may originate in the workplace or it may seep in from the outside. Either way, it often proves difficult to get rid of and can cause several different problems. The most obvious problem is that a work place, especially in modern, corporate America, is highly connected thanks to social-networking and Iphones, and so gossip can easily spread around an office or workshop like a pathogen.

Gossip can paint a distorted picture of you and workers may become obsessed with it, causing them to forego actual work in order to fulfill it, just as any other pleasant distraction might do. Also, it could irritate your employer or supervisors and cause them to see you as a trouble magnet. And if you fight back, either through confrontation or gossiping of your own, it could easily lead to a rift in the corporate team spirit.

Gossiping is also a quick and easy form of character assassinating, allowing people you disagree with or who dislike you to get back at you. This is also the preferred tactic of social climbers who use gossip and being the boss's crony to actual work.