We all love a good story. And I’ll be the first to admit that I have watched more than my fair share of Real Housewives of … everywhere. It’s very entertaining to watch someone else’s drama-filled life from the comforts of our home, but what do you do when drama and gossip come into the workplace. Situations around rumours and gossip are bound to pop up a few times in your career. Here are a few pointers on how to handle office gossip.
Don’t Spread the News
Sometimes gossip just falls in your lap. Your coworker comes to you and tells you that the girl in marketing and the guy in accounting are dating and you didn’t even ask for the information. Information becomes gossip when the story is told over and over again. You have the power to help the news from spreading by not repeating what you heard. Furthermore, if the gossip is not directly related to your job then you shouldn’t really care.
toResign Advice: The optimal way to handle gossip is to let the person who is spreading the information know that you are not interested. Announcing that you could care less about who is dating in the office, keeps rumours from coming your way. The gossiper will realize that you aren’t entertained and will stop bringing you the news. This is the quickest way to eliminate yourself from the rumour mill.
Squash It
Stopping rumours as soon as you are aware of them shows that you are a true professional with integrity and values. While on the surface, some rumours may be entertaining, a lot of times, they are hurtful to someone else. If a rumour comes the way that you know is untrue, set the record straight. In the past, I have said directly, “That is absolutely false and if someone needs clarification they can come to me.” Squash rumours that you know are untrue so that they don’t spread and ultimately have a negative effect on work relationships.
Address It
How about when the gossip is about you? In this case, you must address the gossip with the people who matter. If you know the person who is spreading the rumour, respectfully pull them aside and have a frank conversation about what you heard, ask them if it’s true, and then tell them what the real deal is. In the case you do not know who started the rumour, use the suggestions I mentioned above to stop the rumour and set the record straight. The thing to remember about work is, you have a very specific reason for being there – to do what you are paid to do. Anything that gets in the way of you doing your job is a problem that needs to be resolved immediately.
toResign Advice: Before you go to the source, talk to your manager. You don’t want your manager hearing rumours about you in the lunchroom with everyone else. I suggest you sit down with your manager and tell her what you heard, what the truth is, and how you plan to address it. Your manager will appreciate you being forthcoming as well as approaching the situation with a solution.
All work environments come with varying levels of drama and politics. Learning how to deal with interpersonal relationships with all the people you work with taking some time. Overall, my advice is to keep your professional brand in mind whenever you are at work and stay focused on your career objectives.
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