Office workers' fear of gossip

Knowing that it is not good, the habit of gossiping during working hours is still very difficult for office women to break. The reason is that many women are used to sharing, used to talking, if they sit in silence all day, they cannot stand it.

I have been working for more than 20 years now, and have witnessed many awkward situations in the workplace. I am afraid of being drawn into endless gossip that will negatively affect others. Therefore, I decided to withdraw, limit my social interactions, and only talk to a few very close colleagues.

Apart from communicating for work, I dare not play with anyone, do not dare to make friends on Facebook, Zalo with colleagues. It is not because I am arrogant or have an unsociable personality, but simply to avoid being caught up in gossip and unnecessary fatigue.

The topics of gossip at work are things from heaven to earth, sometimes about oneself, sometimes about things one encounters on the street, sometimes about other people. Each person has a story, so there are topics to gossip about all day long.

Taking advantage of their free time, people gathered to tell each other all kinds of stories, from their sick children, stingy husbands who refused to give money to their wives, dirty husbands who left their clothes all over the house, to how expensive dresses were at this store or that store...

After talking about themselves enough, my sisters and brothers would bring up personal matters of this or that person in the office for fun. Many times when I was stressed and tired from work, I would gossip with everyone to relieve stress. However, I only stopped at fun topics and did not delve into sensitive issues that affected others.

There were times at noon when my female colleagues would go out to eat, drink coffee, and chat about seemingly harmless things, but I would have more ideas to write a new article. I thought that if I knew how to "gossip" at the right time, right place, and right topic, I would get a lot of information that could be beneficial for my work as well as improve my relationship with my colleagues.

The habit of "gossiping" in the workplace would not be blameworthy, if the participants did not delve too deeply into other people's personal lives with biased comments.

However, not everyone knows when to stop... Many people go to work, open Facebook, Zalo, like, comment and comment again, and while working, look to see if anyone has commented to reply.

In an 8-hour work day, I only work about 3-4 hours, the rest of the time I go from room to room, gossiping in my room or on Facebook, Zalo with other people.

The most common thing is jealousy of colleagues who are better than you. If a colleague has a higher education level, better professional skills, a better economic situation, is more beautiful, has more men who pay attention to them, is more appreciated by the boss... then it will always be a topic of discussion whenever idle people sit together. Whenever they see a colleague promoted to a higher position, many people will absentmindedly say: "She had an affair with the boss, that's why she got promoted."

Idle people who have a lot of time to gossip at work simply don’t want to work, work half-heartedly, just to get by, and don’t fulfill their responsibilities. If you were focused on your work, you wouldn’t have time to look at others.

Sometimes whether this person goes to work by car or motorbike today, and where they park their car, becomes a topic of discussion. If a colleague doesn’t drive a car for 1-2 months, rumors will spread: “That person went bankrupt and had to sell her car, so how can she have a car to drive?”

There are many things in life that are not what they seem. But many people have a superficial way of thinking, only judging things based on what they see without understanding the real underlying causes.

The blameworthy thing is that they think it is their right, but they do not stop at thinking, but spread rumors throughout the office. There is no mention of good things, only bad things that they themselves guess without accurate verification.

If there are people in agencies who file lawsuits against colleagues for insulting the honor and dignity of others, for humiliating others, for slandering others, etc., many office workers will be punished.

In a workplace full of gossip, if a woman is respected by her boss, meets and discusses work with him, especially if she is promoted, there will definitely be suspicions of adultery. This hinders many capable people from striving in their careers.

There are people who are capable but do not dare to show it or strive. Because they are afraid of becoming the subject of gossip in the office.

Not only that, the office is also a terrible place to “poke the wrong person”. No matter what you do, there are people who spread false information throughout the office to make people misunderstand the problem and misunderstand the person they hate, in order to sabotage their colleagues.

The 8 hours of work have gone by in a flash. In many offices today, many people do personal work during office hours. They use their time to read newspapers, watch movies, surf the internet and gossip. Work is left undone, but they still receive their monthly income. The problem is not just a waste of time and money. What is worth mentioning is the lack of seriousness in carrying out work. It also forms a bad habit of sitting around and chatting, wasting time.

This habit also causes internal disunity. From non-existent stories, women can add salt and pepper, through one person or another, the story goes further, unintentionally causing harm to others.

The consequences of gossiping without knowing when to stop is wasting time, energy and affecting the quality of work.

To avoid getting caught up in negative gossip, here are a few things to keep in mind:

First, you need to be sober enough to know which of the secrets you hear are okay to tell and which you should keep to yourself.

Second, you must correctly identify who is trustworthy to gossip with. If the person is not trustworthy, it is best not to say anything. You should stay away from people who like to pry into other people's private affairs, people who complain a lot, people who like to gossip all the time, people who take stories as gifts, people who like to show off.

Third, avoid talking about sensitive stories or other people's private lives.

Fourth, you should only bring up conversation situations when necessary or in your free time. Don't turn yourself into an office "gossip" when you still have a lot of work to do. This will unintentionally distract you from your work, leading to a decrease in work results. Pay attention to the time limit, you should spend time on your work, make sure to complete all assigned tasks well, avoid the situation of working unserious, behind schedule, having no products but always saying you are busy.

Fifth, low morale can reduce productivity, reduce cooperation between departments and negatively affect your work. You should try to keep your morale at a suitable level. If you are not enthusiastic about your work, your colleagues will lose their desire to cooperate. Moreover, you should know that no management leader wants to have such an employee.

Ultimately, the office is a place where everyone should follow all the rules of the workplace and aim for efficiency. Sure, humor and laughter in the office can reduce stress and bring many benefits. But show everyone that you understand office culture, you know how to joke and know when to stop.