Office Gossip: How Spreading the Word Can Get You the Axe
There is a long-standing tradition amongst office-workers of gathering at the water cooler to sip coffee and discuss who got drunk and rowdy at the office party, who blew a big deal by sending the wrong report, or which co-workers have been getting cozy on the copy machine. And while office gossip is generally in good fun, the wrong rumor could not only cause a lot of trouble for those it is about, it could also get the messenger shot (that would be you). So here are a few things you should avoid chewing over, no matter how juicy the tidbits.
Anything sex-related. Sure you took the course on sexual harassment, like everyone else, but you just have to know if anyone else has noticed that the CEO’s new secretary is showing off her thong every time she bends over, or that the “sensitive” mail guy gets picked up every day by another dude. Then there’s the marketing director and her assistant, who take “long meetings” in her office with the blinds closed. While talking about office sexploits can be more fun than watching telenovelas, it won’t seem so great when you get slapped with a lawsuit…and then fired.
Social networking (personal issues). While discussing the personal lives of coworkers is nothing new, social networking has made it much easier to uncover their exploits outside of the office. But just because you happened to spot the receptionist on Facebook and found a bunch of racist propaganda on her personal page does not mean you need to announce it to the whole office. Besides the fact that her personal life has nothing to do with her job performance, do you really want to get on the bad side of some gun-toting Nazi-lover?
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Suspected criminal activity. If you catch someone stealing from the supply closet, you may want to report it to the proper authority (not every person in the lunch line). However, if you somehow uncover the criminal past of one of your co-workers (a stint for gang-related activity, say), you could actually get fired for spreading it around, as you might unfairly prejudice others against him.
Medical issues. If a co-worker is in the hospital and you get everyone to pitch in on flowers and sign a card, you are well within the bounds of acceptable behavior. But spotting a girl from legal at Planned Parenthood and speculating about the state of her oven (bun-filled or otherwise) is a bad idea. If you don’t know why she’s there (or even if you do), it’s best to leave the personal lives of others to them. You don’t want to damage someone’s reputation and risk a formal complaint (or legal action).
Salary. Nothing has the potential to get you fired faster than talking about salary since it can directly affect the company’s bottom line. It is generally understood that monetary compensation is not something discussed between co-workers and if your pal across the hall uses your salary information to leverage a better wage for himself, who do you think the axe will fall on? Probably you.
While it can be extremely tempting to spread a little “harmless” gossip, it won’t be long before it comes back to bite you. Whether you simply upset the person you’re blabbing about, incite complaints or legal action, or end up losing your job, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself and your big mouth. So show a little restraint and shut your trap. If you can’t, you may find yourself out of a job.
Chris Parsons is a content writer for Get Debit where you can find a selection of prepaid debit cards and browse prepaid debit card reviews.
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July 13th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Wow, what a great post!…
[..] I saw this really good post today and I wanted to link to it. [..]…
July 19th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Only one thought though. Perhaps you have made composing your blog as your profession or do you do this as part of your free time? Just curious..