How do you tune out office gossip?

Answer 1

1. Say "excuse me" and walk away when gosspip starts up.
2. Say "I'm not comfortable talking about someone when he/she isn't here."
3. Interrupt the gossip by saying politely, "Oh that's none of my business," which is code, of course, for "none of your business" to whomever is saying it.
Good luck and thanks for being ethical! Remember that we murder someone with our tongue when we gossip. (You might try saying that to the gossipers, too, if steps 1, 2, and 3 don't seem to stop them).

Answer 2

I have learned that nothing diffuses juicy gossip better than acting as if you completely missed the point of the discussion and then you start sharing good things about the individual being gossiped about.

Gossiper: "...hey did you hear that Mark was demoted? He better be looking for a job because I heard that Adams is going try to get him fired."

You: "Yeah, a whole lot of people are going to get fired this year. That's why I am trying to keep my productivity up. Hopefully they can't find an excuse to get rid of me. Did you get the memo about the new dress code?"

Gossiper: "Yeah, I got it.. the boss is gonna hit the roof when he finds out that Mark blew that deal with the people from Canada. It looks like he is getting closer to the chopping block"

You: " I was reading this article on the internet about how the term 'chopping block' was originated when it came to the work place blah..blah..blah.."

Gossiper: "Do you think that Mark's wife will leave him if he gets fired?"

You: "Mark is a good guy. He will do fine regardless of how things turn out. He even showed me a couple of tricks in the company database. Did you know that pressing F5 and then hitting enter takes you straight to the main menu?"

So by doing this, essentially you have made yourself out to be someone who is not very fun to gossip with and if your co-workers think that they are going to get a public service announcement that has nothing to do with the subject at hand, they will not even want to gossip amongst themselves if you are anywhere nearby.

Answer 3

Sometimes when someone is talking about you, you can tell that they are about to tell you something you'd rather not hear. You can just change the subject. Or if that doesn't work, you can actually say, "Let's not talk about that right now." or "I'd rather not hear that. I think well of Bob and I'd like to continue thinking that way." or even "Let's not talk about our coworkers like that."

And may I say that I commend you for not wanting to hear office gossip. I think it'll make you so much happier to not know negative stuff that's going on.

Answer 4

By not being a participant, women in the work places that I worked has always had arguments because of little comments made of each other. Things like and this is no joke, did you see what she wearing, did you see how much she eats(no wonder she so fat) and a lot of stupid remarks that disrupts everyone working there. If you stay away, then they will start to say that you think that you are better then them, it never ends with women, its ridiculous but true.

Answer 5

In mine, there are two types of people---the office people and the on-air people. The two have their own problems, but are all good friends. The office ones keep their drama to themselves, and the on-air people keep theirs to themselves too. Gossip is actually frowned upon where I work, so few people do it, but when they do, everybody will know why and most likely agree.

Answer 6

It's very difficult to ignore office gossip. But I've found that if you don't contribute to it or express interest in it, eventually, the "offenders" will not share it with you in future. It's not an "overnight" remedy, but it works.

Good luck!

Answer 7

your username is curious. Dont ya think thats a lil' ironic?


As fer the question, just tune it out. If you start tellin' folks you don't want to hear it they may think less of you. Gossip is a form of stress release.

Answer 8

... are you allowed headphones at work? If not, try asking if you can relocate your desk.

If THAT doesn't work, then you may need to be gutsy and speak up. Say something like, "Excuse me, fella's, but would you mind keeping that to yourselves?"

You'd be surprised how often people will apologize profusely and comply!

Answer 9

simply ignore and mind your own business. those gossipers are chickens from the "chicken club". if you ignore them, you'll be superior and individualistic like the eagle. the chix are just wasting the time of their life.

Answer 10

Tune it out? I'm trying to tune it in. Nobody tells me anything. I have no idea who's doing what to whom or with whom.