Gossiping at Work

Talking About Your Coworkers Makes You Look Bad

Aug 28, 2007

When you talk about your coworkers you look bad because your listener will attribute those negative traits to you. Here's how workplace gossip can backfire.

Gossiping at work - especially if you're talking about your coworkers negatively - can make you look bad. The American Psychological Association published a study about the "boomerang effect of gossip." It turns out that when you say something – for instance, "He's a selfish, mean jerk" or "Her husband is cheating on her because she's an icicle in bed" – your listener often attributes those qualities to you.

Researchers call this "spontaneous trait transference." When you're indulging in workplace gossip, your words could be interpreted as a description of your own personality and actions.

How Workplace Gossip Affects You

Perhaps you're aware that your words can crush, frighten, enrage or annoy people – but what do they do to you? There are three types of stress-inducing words that can break your spirit, sabotage your goals, and damage your health (even if you're working at home and don't go to the water cooler!).

Critical, Judgmental Words

Dodging a cold or flu virus isn't just about washing your hands or avoiding people who are sick. Watch your words: "Did you hear they bought a powerboat even though they're still paying for the Hummer? I heard they have to remortgage their house."

Talking about your coworkers negatively don't just spread negativity and make you look bad, they affect your physical health.

Whining and Complaining

Though whining and complaining isn't always about workplace gossip, it does affect your professional relationships and your health. "Maintaining a negative mood for a long time is harmful to your health" says psychology professor Scott Hemenover (Kansas State University). "The key isn't how stressed you are, but how long you are stressed. Staying stressed for a long time can impair your immune and cardiovascular functions."

Rude, Inconsiderate Words

Most of us deny that we're cruel – and we're probably right. After all we don't deliberately spread malicious gossip at work, right? But there are "harmless" slips that can have the same effect as negative gossip or stressful situations: snubbing colleagues, name dropping, refusing to give appropriate credit. Those may not seem to be acts of cruelty…but your body doesn't know that.

Cortisol is a stress hormone that floods your system when you're simply thinking about a negative or stressful event. When you imagine throttling your colleague or secretary (perhaps because they're spreading gossip at work!), your physical response can lead to hypertension, depression, insomnia, fatigue, and gastrointestinal disorders. Your words cause similar reactions. Sarcasm, pointed remarks, thoughtless comments or rude words all cause feelings of disorder and chaos, which negatively affects your health.

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The copyright of the article Gossiping at Work in Psychology is owned by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Permission to republish Gossiping at Work in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Feb 12, 2009 6:38 AM

Guest :

I have watched someone bully other memebers of staff for 2 years. She, herself is insecure which becomes very obvious when she says vindictive comments about staff.
Management won't deal with her because she can turn the charm on and off. Seeing this behaviour on a daily basis has made me look at my role and decide to move on. This is not the type of place I want to work in with these ethics.