Office gossip is one of those things that you could spend all day talking about. In companies with a lot of younger people, the gossip is like reading an US Weekly magazine – who went out with who, who slept with who, who wore that ugly outfit. In other offices, there may be less of that, but there will always be someone or something to talk about – who the boss yelled at, who said what stupid thing, and who’s on what new diet. Face it – people spend too much time at work not to reveal something about their personal life that other people can talk about. So, what should you do about it?
To get useful information at work, be friends with an office gossip, but don’t be “the Office Gossip.”
What’s the difference? Well, if you are an office gossip (or even “The Office Gossip”), then you are the one that talks to everyone. You spend more time talking to other people than you do working. You are always walking around during the day and at night you always have plans with different people in the office. While this is fun, you will never be looked upon really seriously. Everyone might like you, but everyone will know that you don’t do any work. Why? Because they think you are always gossiping. So, make sure you are not considered to be the office gossip or even part of the office gossip. Most people will say they like office gossip, but nobody will think that the person who brings it to them deserves to be a manager or to receive a raise or promotion.
On the other hand, being friends with the office gossip is actually quite useful. Office gossip is one of those things that you should make a point to know about. Why? Because mixed somewhere in the ramblings of great office gossip is a piece of information you might be able to use to get ahead, to look good with, or to do your job better. For example – if you know that a co-worker is having a baby, then you know that pretty soon she will be looking for someone to help her with her projects or she will need someone to lead those projects since she will most likely be out for a few weeks. Or, if you know that 2 people don’t like each other, then you will know not to put them on the same project or team and risk wasting all of your time dealing with their personal disagreements.
You may hate gossiping about other people, but you never know when that gossip will prove useful – whether you are managing someone, trying to move into another group, or trying to get a promotion. Inevitably, within that gossip will be useful bits of information that you can use to do your work better and get ahead. So, the easiest way to do this is to be friends with an office gossip, but never be one. By keeping your friendship with an office gossip, you will make sure you are always up to date just in case you need it.