Business Gossip
Can workplace gossip and good business etiquette co-exist?
Workplace gossip and business etiquette can co-exist. Gossip is a problem in the workplace whether you're passing on good gossip or negative gossip about someone as it still cuts into the productivity of the work day. It also demeans characters and causes a snowball effect as people take the office gossip and then they retell it in their own language, so it becomes distorted very quickly in the workplace. Usually higher-ups are often the target but people low on the corporate rung are also guilty of banal conversation that targets and demeans other people, nationalities, genders and sexual orientation. Thus office gossip is always inappropriate. We're all gentle and we're all very vulnerable in the workplace to gossip, and if you've ever been on the end of gossip you'll realise how truly devastating it can be. I've seen it happen and it's a sad state of affairs. Thus no matter how good you business etiquette is, there is no place for gossip in the workplace.
How do I respond if I become the target of gossip in the workplace?
If you become the target of gossip in the workplace, go to your immediate manager or supervisor and tell them what's happened. And ask their advice on how to handle this office gossip. Usually things that happen like this are handled from management and the manners established are very interesting. Manners comes from the top down, indeed all etiquette comes from the top down in companies and if a senior executive or executives insist that office gossip is part of the corporate culture, that's what happens. Usually there is no tolerance for gossip in today's businesses, and this policy is becoming more and more prevalent.
What is the proper way to excuse myself from participating in business gossip?
The proper way to excuse yourself from participating in business gossip is tricky. I hold up my hand, which is the universal sign for stop, and say that I really don't want to have this information and I turn and walk away. I teach people how to treat me in the workplace, and if I create boundaries, then people learn to honour those when it comes to gossip about the workplace. Actually, the person who listens to gossip is as at fault as the person that creates the gossip or passes it on. You're both considered having weak character, so it's not just the gossiper, it's the gossipee who gets the brunt end of that one. Its better not to get involved in workplace gossip at all.
