Member Article

Smoking gossips have workplace fuming

The most popular place to have a gossip about colleagues at work is outside while smoking, it has been claimed. A survey of more than 1,000 workers found other hotspots for a chin wag included drinks machines and the local cafe.

More than one in three of those questioned said they had heard someone talking about them behind their back and some had a working relationship ruined by office gossips. Receptionists were most likely to be caught talking about someone behind their back, the Office Angels study found. In a stereotype-reinforcing result, women were found to be more likely to gossip about a work colleague than men.

David Clubb, Office Angels’ managing director, said: “Starting rumours about colleagues undermines working relationships and can lead to an atmosphere of mistrust, impacting on performance. “If you are seen to start malicious gossip, both your colleagues and senior management will view you as someone who doesn’t think values such as honesty and integrity are important.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .