Should one avoid office gossip or is it a healthy way of reducing stress?
This was selected as Best Answer Office gossip has both pros and cons and therefore it operates as a double edged sword: The pros of office gossip is that it is the quickest and effective mechanism of communicating a particular information/message within the organization. Also by virtue of classifying a message as gossip one receives more attention from the audience unlike a presentation or a memo. Typical example are the fables and annecdotes about great company leaders and their values that are shared in hushed whispers in the corridors of the organization. The cons are that generally office gossip is not based on facts or in interest of the organization and therefore it has this tendency of misreporting and exaggerating facts and events. Sometimes it impacts the behaviour of the organization (which is completely unnecessary and uncalled for) that leads to needless complications and lack of focus. Net, net I for one am against office gossip unless it is tightly controlled and managed
This was selected as Best Answer Hi Rajshree, Although office gossip when it is done cautiously could be a good approach to alleviate stress, a warning must be raised when gossip could be the predominant way of communicating ideas, feelings and appreciations amongst workers sharing a corporate vision, working all together in a project or displaying their competences, skills and talents in a company´s workplace where an inspiring, quiet and respectful corporate climate should be preserved according the values, policies and principles that are inherent to the corporate culture. If gossip and rumors prevail as communicational channels, an organization could are facing an alarming deterioration in the effectiveness from its formal channels of corporative communication affecting teams´ cohesiveness, employee´s morale and individual productivity when projects with transformational potential are being developed. In the long term, Senior Management´s credibility could be negatively valuated, u
