Gossip in the workplace – Good or bad? Healthy or unhealthy?
When a work setting consists of at least three people, it seems that gossip will occur at some point. But what do we mean by “gossip”? Likely everyone has their own take on what constitutes gossip (and assumes that everyone else is thinking the same way). One definition that seems useful, even if a little strict, is “talking about in a way that could be taken as negative or disparaging, and that person is not present (or at least unaware of the comments).” Hmm. That definition casts a light that likely reveals more experiences of gossip than we might have initially estimated.
But What’s the Big Deal?
As defined here, what is wrong with gossip? One problem is that the person being talked about is not present to defend or explain themselves and likely will never know that they were portrayed negatively to others. It’s highly unlikely that the gossipy “facts” being shared are the entire story, and, yet, to at least some extent, the comments are likely to affect how the listeners view the person being gossiped about. This is especially true when listeners do not have much, if any, personal experience with the person in question.
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