[Leena_1101]

I need some expert help on how to survive a work place where all people do is gossip and bad mouth everyone. People are so two faced that its so difficult to trust anyone.

[Anonymous]

My husband works in a hair salon and in a restaurant. He always has some very entertaining stories over dinner. 🙂

[Anonymous]

My husband works in a hair salon and in a restaurant. He always has some very entertaining stories over dinner. 🙂

[Leena_1101]

Wow thanks for sharing all your experiences … I do agree with one point smart experienced managers do notice things like these…. they actually do 🙂 and by not participating i surely stand out 🙂

[Leena_1101]

Wow thanks for sharing all your experiences … I do agree with one point smart experienced managers do notice things like these…. they actually do 🙂 and by not participating i surely stand out 🙂

[How many letters do you need]

I worked for VP once who said something to the effect of this:

We all want people on our team who are class A workers, smart educated, experienced, etc…but given the choice I'd rather take the person who is a hard worker with less pedigree if they cause fewer problems. Knowledge can be taught but grenade throwers have a character flaw that requires a shrink…and I don't have the time to be somebody's shrink

That's stayed with me ever since..

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[How many letters do you need]

I worked for VP once who said something to the effect of this:

We all want people on our team who are class A workers, smart educated, experienced, etc…but given the choice I'd rather take the person who is a hard worker with less pedigree if they cause fewer problems. Knowledge can be taught but grenade throwers have a character flaw that requires a shrink…and I don't have the time to be somebody's shrink

That's stayed with me ever since..

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[teeteenounouche]

I thought about this and the way I have handled the gossips or cliques is to embrace them in a way to further my knowledge about what is going on in my department or company. Basically, be friendly not friends with everyone and never disclose anything important about my personal life. I am on the fringe of each group…I get my work done faster by using my own knowledge and getting information from other people who wouldn't normally help me but because 2 weeks ago we chatted about the weather, a class they were taking, or their child who got in trouble for talking in class, they are more willing to give me what I need…When people are gossiping, I listen with the “oh really” and “right” comments making sure not to convey any opinion.

Florida:
AUD: 73, 81! Thank you Lord!
BEC: 73, 77! Thank you Lord! and WTB
REG: 71, 82! Thank you Lord! and A71
FAR: 72, 78! Thank you God and my Mommy in Heaven!

CPA Excel, Ninja Notes & Audio, Wiley Test Bank, CPAreviewforfree

[teeteenounouche]

I thought about this and the way I have handled the gossips or cliques is to embrace them in a way to further my knowledge about what is going on in my department or company. Basically, be friendly not friends with everyone and never disclose anything important about my personal life. I am on the fringe of each group…I get my work done faster by using my own knowledge and getting information from other people who wouldn't normally help me but because 2 weeks ago we chatted about the weather, a class they were taking, or their child who got in trouble for talking in class, they are more willing to give me what I need…When people are gossiping, I listen with the “oh really” and “right” comments making sure not to convey any opinion.

Florida:
AUD: 73, 81! Thank you Lord!
BEC: 73, 77! Thank you Lord! and WTB
REG: 71, 82! Thank you Lord! and A71
FAR: 72, 78! Thank you God and my Mommy in Heaven!

CPA Excel, Ninja Notes & Audio, Wiley Test Bank, CPAreviewforfree

[Anonymous]

One time time I caught someone talking trash about me behind my back. I had to step in and say “So do you want to say that to my face or do you want to shut up?” She shut up and was terminated a few days later. Apparently, the boss was tired of her stirring the Kool-Aid and my confrontation with her was the straw the broke the camels back.

[Anonymous]

One time time I caught someone talking trash about me behind my back. I had to step in and say “So do you want to say that to my face or do you want to shut up?” She shut up and was terminated a few days later. Apparently, the boss was tired of her stirring the Kool-Aid and my confrontation with her was the straw the broke the camels back.

[Anonymous]

@Skynet LOL! I've worked retail, and you're so right. 😐

My view on gossip is that it's a wealth of information at times, but I never want to contribute my own information. Best bet is to do, as teetee said, the “oh really” type comments. Just be sure not to give an opinion!

My office isn't too terrible when it comes to gossip, but they are pretty bad about sharing every detail of their personal lives. I heard something awhile ago that has stuck with me and I try to keep in mind – the more you know about a coworker's life, the less respect you will have for them, almost always. And of course the inverse is true too – the more coworkers know about my personal life, usually the less respect they will have for me. For example, I had a couple drinks last night, and usually do on the weekends. My coworkers are all older than me, and all either never drank or only drank when they were young (and most of them have religious objections to it now – I live and work in a very traditional area). If I broadcasted the fact that I drink regularly on the weekends, in their eyes, it would lower me – whether because they associate it with college-age immaturity or because they believe it is wrong. So, I keep it to myself. I drink at home, so it's not like they're going to see me at the bar and get astounded, so it really doesn't matter to them. I also live with my boyfriend; most of my other coworkers have more traditional/religious views of relationships/marriage, so don't approve of that. They try to be respectful and keep their opinions to themselves, but I know that has still somewhat lowered their opinion of me. However, that's a bit harder to keep to yourself if you engage in any chit-chat at all! So there's a mix, but I try to think about the effect that my revelations will have and realize that 99% of the time, I'm better to keep my mouth shut (and honestly about 50% of the time I find myself opening it anyway 😛 ).

I made it a point when I started my job to try to figure out what everyone else's educational level was to know what I should and shouldn't say to try not to seem too goody-two-shoes. However, everyone else wanted to know mine too. 😉 Turns out my coworkers are a mix of non-accounting majors and “didn't finish college”, so having a Bachelor's in Accounting put me as the most educated. When I started, I was also 1 exam away from being a CPA, so I kept that part quiet because I didn't want to create a stir. However, I also understand that sometimes you can't. If any of them had ever had it cross their mind that I might be a CPA or might be studying to be one, they would've asked, and I'm surely not going to lie about it!

[Anonymous]

@Skynet LOL! I've worked retail, and you're so right. 😐

My view on gossip is that it's a wealth of information at times, but I never want to contribute my own information. Best bet is to do, as teetee said, the “oh really” type comments. Just be sure not to give an opinion!

My office isn't too terrible when it comes to gossip, but they are pretty bad about sharing every detail of their personal lives. I heard something awhile ago that has stuck with me and I try to keep in mind – the more you know about a coworker's life, the less respect you will have for them, almost always. And of course the inverse is true too – the more coworkers know about my personal life, usually the less respect they will have for me. For example, I had a couple drinks last night, and usually do on the weekends. My coworkers are all older than me, and all either never drank or only drank when they were young (and most of them have religious objections to it now – I live and work in a very traditional area). If I broadcasted the fact that I drink regularly on the weekends, in their eyes, it would lower me – whether because they associate it with college-age immaturity or because they believe it is wrong. So, I keep it to myself. I drink at home, so it's not like they're going to see me at the bar and get astounded, so it really doesn't matter to them. I also live with my boyfriend; most of my other coworkers have more traditional/religious views of relationships/marriage, so don't approve of that. They try to be respectful and keep their opinions to themselves, but I know that has still somewhat lowered their opinion of me. However, that's a bit harder to keep to yourself if you engage in any chit-chat at all! So there's a mix, but I try to think about the effect that my revelations will have and realize that 99% of the time, I'm better to keep my mouth shut (and honestly about 50% of the time I find myself opening it anyway 😛 ).

I made it a point when I started my job to try to figure out what everyone else's educational level was to know what I should and shouldn't say to try not to seem too goody-two-shoes. However, everyone else wanted to know mine too. 😉 Turns out my coworkers are a mix of non-accounting majors and “didn't finish college”, so having a Bachelor's in Accounting put me as the most educated. When I started, I was also 1 exam away from being a CPA, so I kept that part quiet because I didn't want to create a stir. However, I also understand that sometimes you can't. If any of them had ever had it cross their mind that I might be a CPA or might be studying to be one, they would've asked, and I'm surely not going to lie about it!

[Leena_1101]

@teeteenounouche @Lilla … you guys are right on spot about how i feel about my current work place … @Lilla – LOL at gossip is a wealth of information .. that was my ‘AHA' moment … like Oprah says .. ‘I just never thought of it that way' …. 🙂

[Leena_1101]

@teeteenounouche @Lilla … you guys are right on spot about how i feel about my current work place … @Lilla – LOL at gossip is a wealth of information .. that was my ‘AHA' moment … like Oprah says .. ‘I just never thought of it that way' …. 🙂

[MintsRGood]

Gossip is unavoidable in any work environment and it can make life miserable! A few years ago we had 2 individuals on staff (one in accounting and the other in admin) who felt it was their duty to gossip about anything/everything and when the news cycle wasn't juicy enough for their liking they would just make crap up about people. It was extremely frustrating for everyone to deal with at our place.

After I was promoted over one of them, I became a favorite target. If I had a dollar for every time one of them called me a b****, I could have retired a wealthy woman. It was very annoying but I refused to engage…even when they went into my office while I was at lunch, noticed a garment bag hanging on the back of my office door (attending a black tie fundraiser directly after work, didn't have time to stop home, didn't want dress to wrinkle in car, dress was inside a black zippered garment bag), they opened it up and saw my dress inside, and broadcasted to the entire office what my dress size was and that I maybe I had an eating disorder. When I refused to tell them anything about the event I was attending, they began to gossip that I was having an affair. After that, I insisted that the building manager install a lock on my office door with keys only for myself, the owner, and building manager and was actually obliged. Eventually the moved on to someone else because I kept ignoring them. Just because someone flings a little dirt doesn't mean you need to get down and roll around in the mud with them. Just brush it off and know that people small petty people consume themselves with small petty issues.

What ultimately got those 2 a$$clowns fired was when they spread a rumor that someone who worked part time was an alcoholic because they “looked hungover everyday and threw up at work a lot so that must be why they only work part time”. The staffer confronted them and told the gossipers that they were undergoing CHEMO and to please not share their condition with anyone and to stop spreading rumors. Of course, they told anyone and everyone would listen…including the owner…who promptly fired both of them on the spot for disclosing a medical condition! I love Karma 🙂

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[Author]

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