No one should rely on gossip alone to get any information.  It truly is a shame that you have to work in such an unprofessional environment.  People believe that gossip is just gossip until the gossip is about them.  Gossip has been known to destroy relationships, reputations and even lives.  I speak from personal experience and have to deal with gossip about me on a daily basis.  Looks like I’m the flavor of the year around here and I’m suppose to be working in a very professional environment.

If you hear gossip about someone and that person is readily available then go straight to that person to find out the truth, always get it “straight from the horse’s mouth”.  The source of your information does not have to be passed on since that can create an even more hostile work environment.

As always, this is just my opinion.

Traditionally women have been accused of gossip more than men but I'm here to tell you this: there is a beast who can out-gossip any woman! A beast who has the capacity to out-gossip anyone on the face of the earth!

That beast? A construction worker! I swear I have whispered  something to a PIPE on the thirteenth floor of a structure with on one else alive within FIVE floors and by the time I get to the ground floor what I whispered to the PIPE has isn't just common knowledge but it has morphed several times into five different versions!

I've seen construction hands who loved to gossip so much they'd start a rumor at the end of the day at the convenience store while buying beer just to see how it changed and grew by the next morning when they're buying breakfast tacos!

So move over ladies! The beast has you beat! 

Perhaps I misused the word "gossip."  I think there's gossip everywhere, but my point was that the kind of gossip I experience where I work is actually positive in most cases because that's the only way we seem to learn what's happening to our business and future of our jobs.  So I'm implying that gossip can sometimes be necessary information.

I'm sorry that so many of us are exposed to personal gossip, but I've learned over the years that the best way to combat that kind of gossip is to either confront the person spewing it out, or start off most conversations by saying, "I know it's hard to approach me because I have a negative reputation around here, but sometimes you need to come to me for help."  That kind of statement throws people off and sometimes you make a friend.  But I still think that "water cooler" gossip has become a necessity in some workplaces because management has stopped sending out memos and other forms of communication to address company issues. 

I'll confess to using old fashion gossip to make a point now and then.  And I consider it necessary information.  Am I still missing my own point?

Thanks for your comments.