Do not gossip at work

“A slip of the foot, you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over” – Benjamin Franklin.

Gossip

In the workplace, it is prudent never to say something behind someone’s back that you wouldn’t say to his or her face.

 Not only does gossiping make you look petty and unprofessional, but also the gossip will most likely find its way back to the person you talked about, creating tension in the workplace. If you have to talk about someone, do it away from work, and to someone that has no connection to your workplace, like a spouse, friend, or pet.

It destroys your image, team morale, productivity.

When gossip is good?

Dr Bianca Beersma and Professor Gerben Van Kleef, researchers at the Department of Work and Organisational Psychology at the University of Amsterdam found that gossip serves as a kind of “social cement” and that organizations can “benefit from gossip that is instigated for positive reasons”.

The team of researchers who work with Dr Beersma and Professor Van Kleef on this ongoing study found that as much as two-thirds of our conversation is gossip, but it is not necessarily nasty. Instead, the study found that gossip is used to warn colleagues about workmates who are not pulling their weight or should not be trusted. Fear of gossip can also ensure that lazy workers fall into line and do their bit. “The threat of gossip seems to function as social pressure that motivates group members to ‘stay in line’ and behave in accordance with what they think their group members want them to do”, said Dr Beersma of the research.

 Here is a great article on New Managers: 5 Ways To Stop Negative Office Gossip