Office Gossip: What Can You Do?Written by Susan Dunn, M.A., The EQ Coach
Office gossip can be quite a problem. It can lead to unproductivity, mobbing, harassment, and lack of focus. We want people's attention focused on their work at work, not on private lives of other employees. Why does it happen? Because we're people and we like to sit around and talk, and probably our favorite topic of conversation is to talk about one another. The problem is that if you want to tell a good story, there's a temptation to embellish, get controversial and head in directions that can get out of hand. Then someone hears a comment about themselves they don't like and they begin to think they're working in a bad environment and from there it's just a step over to discrimination. What can management do to decrease amount of gossip in an office? Part of it is setting an example. If you talk about things in a straight forward manner, let everyone know, don't keep secrets, and don't whisper in hall, you set that tone for employees. It's tempting not to talk about problems that conern office, business or employees because from your point of view, you probably don't have enough information yet, and most importantly you don't know what you're going to do about it. It's "tidier" to wait until all information is in, make a decision and then announce it. However, employees always know something's going on -- we're very astute about picking up vibes about things that impact us -- and so speculation will start. This is people talking among themselves trying to guess what's going on. It starts rumors, and remember again that human love of telling a good story and getting attention. The one with "best" rumor wins brownie points, and it doesn't help you or office morale. It’s also likely to occur when someone has too much time on his or her hands. When, as a kid, I started making trouble for myself and my sisters because I had nothing to do, my grandmother would give me something constructive to do (a chore, a book to read), saying, “An idle mind is devil’s workshop.”
| | From Ordinary to Extra Ordinary Through Internet NetworkingWritten by Rozey Gean
Entrepreneurs around world are tapping into endless resources that freely flow through Internet networking communities. These communities are made up of enterprising women and men who are seeking to discover new and innovative techniques of establishing business relationships, building a client base, and gaining increased exposure globally. Through e-mail lists and electronic bulletin boards sponsored by such communities, entrepreneurs can not only establish these viable contacts; they can also share Internet resources to assist fellow members within communities in just about every aspect of business start up and operation. As a veteran in ever-growing popularity of Internet networking, I envision four distinctive elements that are inevitably sought after from true networkers across world. 1. A VAT OF INFORMATION The Internet offers a vat of information to entrepreneurs. However, knowing what you need to know and where to find it can propose many challenges. Through effective networking, entrepreneurs share their knowledge and resources in an effort to help each other keep up with information that may be pertinent, as well as useful, in growing their businesses. 2. PARTNERING THROUGH SUPPORT Often times isolation of working alone limits our creativity and abilities, as well as our potential growth. Through Internet community networking, entrepreneurs are able to establish partnerships wherein they share various components of services that will allow them to take on projects they may otherwise feel forced to turn down. Reasons they turn down opportunities may be a result of time restraints or a lack of knowledge in specific areas or aspects of a project.
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