Thoughts on Office Gossip? Looking for perspectives.
October 3, 2015 12:20 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for general thoughts about office gossip-- how much is normal? When does it create an unhealthy office culture? When should management act? Should you have a policy on it? Do policies work? Experiences as coworkers and managers? Any view from HR? Anecdata welcome.
I've always been neutral to tolerant about office gossip, with the general feeling that some degree of bitching was probably healthy as long as it didn't descend into gross untruths about people. Now I'm in an office environment where gossip is so common it feels as though it takes the place of discourse and hurts creativity. I'm currently rethinking my neutral position on the matter.
I live and work in Hong Kong, and understand that part of the issue I see here might well be cultural, so I have a special interest in any thoughts about different experiences with office/general gossip in different cultures. Pointers to books or scholarly articles on the topic also appreciated.
I've always been neutral to tolerant about office gossip, with the general feeling that some degree of bitching was probably healthy as long as it didn't descend into gross untruths about people. Now I'm in an office environment where gossip is so common it feels as though it takes the place of discourse and hurts creativity. I'm currently rethinking my neutral position on the matter.
I live and work in Hong Kong, and understand that part of the issue I see here might well be cultural, so I have a special interest in any thoughts about different experiences with office/general gossip in different cultures. Pointers to books or scholarly articles on the topic also appreciated.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Hey, sorry, but as presented, this is really more like a general "let's discuss office gossip." If you'd like to narrow it down a bit to an answerable question for solving or addressing a problem, please contact us within the next hour or so, and we can edit and undelete. -- taz
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