Is workplace gossip just a painful fact of life? Is there a way to go beneath the radar with regards to coworkers and staff who base their life enjoyment discussing other people’s personal business? Is there a good model for reducing the amount of workplace gossip/reinforcing more pro social habits? Or is that just how people socialize? I realize that’s multiple forms of the question, but it is always something I think about working in a gossip culture.
You won’t stop those that really want to gossip, judge and probe into peoples lives.
The method I used to express I’m not interested when they continue to engage, beside the obvious method of not engaging in it and not talking behind peoples backs, was to say:
Small minds talk about people, average minda talk about events, and great minds discuss ideas.
Then they can sit with that and figure out if they want to take the insult of being a small mind.
I also found that when there is the office Joke teller that just tells annoyingly lame jokes, that when they approach you and tell a joke, then reply with:
I heard Jokes are a prop for people who aren’t inherently funny.
They won’t approach you again :)