Are you the sort of person who hates gossip, refuse to participate or even stop to chitchat in the hallways or at the water cooler while you’re at work because you feel that office gossip is evil? Think again.

By Celine Lee

Gossip, the practice of sharing information about other people’s lives is familiar to all of us. Granted that in its most vicious form, office gossip has been responsible for destroying friendships and undermining business deals, office gossip can also be an important tool in managing one’s career. As career coach, Marcia Greene says, “Many workers assume that the lion’s share of gossip that travels around offices is about personal matters, when that is really not the case.” According to a pool of 1,000 top U.S companies, 40% of executives said that water cooler discussions typically focus on business-related matters, for example, who’s getting hired, fired or promoted, and so on.

In many work places, information isn’t very forthcoming and the office grapevine is usually the only conduit for important news, so if you ignore it altogether, you could miss out on valuable information. For example, you may hear about a new opening in the department that you wish to move to. Rumours about internal changes can also be a tip-off that corporate “downsizing” may be around the corner, so it may be time to start looking for a new job.

Why do we do it?
We’ve been inveterate gossips ever since our ancestors invented language. Primitive societies used negative information to discredit the reputation of their rivals, a practise which still carries on today, as many of you are probably well aware of. A recent survey conducted by the American Society for Training and Development found that 21% of workers admitted to participating in gossip “frequently”, with an additional 64% indulging in gossiping some of the time.

What that means basically is that gossiping at work is a very a common social pastime that you won’t be able to run away from. Like it or not, many of us succumb to peer pressure and participate in gossiping so as to avoid being ostracized by our colleagues. It’s a necessary survival tactic. By insisting on being “above” such behaviour, you would only succeed in setting yourself up as a target of malicious gossip that takes place behind your back. Or worse, you could become a convenient scapegoat for things that go wrong.

Learn to play the game
Like every game, there are rules to learn and rules to follow. Make them work to your advantage. As they say, “Knowledge is power.”

Pay attention to the interaction between your colleagues. Learn to distinguish between the influential decision-makers and the incessant whiners who do nothing but gripe. You want to get noticed by those colleagues who might be able to help you, and not by the latter group.

Don’t misunderstand — we’re not suggesting that you should become a shameless brown-noser. Getting noticed is important, but the best way of doing so is still to concentrate on your work and making sure that you produce good results, and not by spending your time flattering important colleagues. That being said, there is no point in producing good work if no one else knows about it! So keep your ears open and make sure that you’re in the loop.

The grapevine is also important for all kinds of information that may well save you from making serious mistakes. Arthur, a content manager for an IT firm, has only been working for his company for a short while, but he has already come across various gossips about fellow colleagues, company performance, bonus, pending deal closures and so on. Being “in touch” has already benefited him to an extent. “For example, a simple thing like hearing from colleagues that your boss is in a foul mood prevents you from walking into his office when he has just blown his top,” says Arthur.

Elizabeth Lee, an equities dealer, has also benefited from getting stock tips through the grapevine. She has learned how to sieve out useful information, and she has even helped two friends to clinch jobs in her company by finding out about the job opportunities before they were advertised in the newspapers.

Just remember, not gossiping doesn’t mean staying out of the loop completely. You still need to know about what is going on in the office, but refrain from adding your own comments especially if they harm another person.

And if you’re unfortunate enough to get caught for gossiping by a friend or co-worker, admit your fault and explain your intentions. If you’re brave enough to say it, then be brave enough to face the consequences.

Karen Kirchner, Managing Partner of Career Management Consulting, believes that you can indulge in a little-on-the-job gossip as long as you follow the seven different rules:

• Only gossip now and then, and be aware of who is listening.
• Don’t spend too much time with known office gossips, or you may be judged guilty
by association.
• Listen carefully, but say as little as possible. Don’t appear to be an ambulance
chaser or a tattletale so that you can be the one with the scoop.
• Work on the principle that whatever you say will be repeated. Think about the
implications of this before you speak.
• Consider the source of gossip and the source’s hidden motives. People sometimes plant information to manipulate a situation.
• Do not badmouth people; your comments will often come back to haunt you as
alliances shift in the workplace.
• If something you say gets back to a friend or colleague in a way that you wish it
hadn’t, apologise and be honest. This is the only way of salvaging your reputation
and limiting the damage.
(source: Career Advice, Monster.com)

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