How would you deal with a co-worker who is constantly gossiping?

There is a co-worker who is always gossiping in the lunch room about other co-workers, especially ones that I like. How would you deal with that?

Oct 16, 2010
Some thoughts on dealing with a gossiping co-worker
by: Kevin

There are a few things that I would recommend.

First of all, it is okay for you to stand up for the co-workers that are being talked about. You can do this in a non-confrontational way too.

If it happens again, you could say something like, "(Name of co-worker) has done some great things for me. Let me tell you about the time..." or something like, "That hasn't been my experience with (Name)."

If you were to say something like "You shouldn't say things like that about people" you will likely be cut out of the group, which isn't good for your reputation. If you were to say something like that, it would now become you against them.

There are ways of handling it so that you can accommodate both groups of people without betraying your co-workers.

As a last resort, if the gossiping persists, then you may want to reconsider who you are eating lunch with and changing friends if it continues to be a problem.

Maybe someone else reading this will have some other ideas too.

Hope this helps!

Kevin
www.modern-manners-and-etiquette.com