The Hot Spots for Office Gossip
Danielle McQueen, 14 December 2007
We’ve had smirting (smoking and flirting) since the smoking ban, now we’ve got smossiping: smoking outside while having a gossip. According to a survey of more than 1,000 workers by Office Angels and reported on Onrec, smossiping is the preferred method of relaying office news for one in seven (14 percent) UK workers.
According to the survey top gossip hot spots include:
• Canteen or local cafe (28 percent)
• Water cooler (19 percent)
• Instant Messenger/email (17 percent)
• Walk around the block (10 percent)
However, there is a fine line between harmless gossiping and nastiness as a third of office workers have found out. More than a third (35 percent) have heard someone talking about them behind their back, more than a quarter (26 percent) have had a working relationship ruined by office gossiping and over 15 percent have been caught discussing their boss’ behaviour! However, the matter has not been taken lightly for seven percent who’ve been reprimanded for taking gossip too far.
David Clubb, Managing Director of Office Angels said, “While office chit-chat is part of working life there can be a fine line between social interaction and nasty gossip. It is important to maintain a professional attitude at all times, starting rumours about colleagues undermines working relationships and can lead to an atmosphere of mistrust, impacting on performance. If you are seen to start malicious gossip, both your colleagues and senior management will view you as someone who doesn’t think values such as honesty and integrity are important.”
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