How do I stay out of office gossip?
Since you are receptionist, you may be forced to be seated where people may congregate to talk. Consider that you can excuse yourself politely and simply say that you need to get some work done (or that you are having difficulty concentrating on incoming calls) with people congregating to chat nearby. Also, you can choose not participate in any conversations that are gossip. Make an effort to engage in conversation any time it does not involve gossip. Do not engage when others discuss things which are gossip. My experience has been that a person who gossips will stop and move on to someone else if you seem disinterested. Non engaging responses like “I see” and “hmm” rather than “REALLY?!?!”. seem to do the trick. Its a learned behavior for them so sometimes you may need to sit through a few tales you’d rather not hear while practicing this policy until the gossiper realizes that their tales do not cause you to respond. They are looking for the “I can’t believe it!” and the “What a jerk
