How to identify the office gossip
There are definitive signs you can look for to help you pinpoint when you are working with a person inclined to engage in gossip. Here are a few things to look out for:
*Attention Seeking
The office gossip will likely say most anything to draw attention. They present information which tends to undermine others while attempting to make themselves the center of conversation. They often perceive that if they tell a good story, people will rally around them and give them undivided attention.
This may be due to low self-esteem and the need to put others down in order to boost and/or soothe their own egos. Either way, if someone is actively looking to spread any kind of story which draws attention, this is someone you want to watch your back with.
*Backstabbing
If your colleague is talking on and on about someone else, chances are they’re already, or will soon be, doing it to you behind your back too. Definitive signs of being two-faced include smiling to someone’s face and then bad-talking or making gestures or rolling eyes behind their back.
If you see someone exhibiting these signals, it is a strong sign something is wrong and you want to be extremely careful around this kind of person at work. A person who shows signs of being two-faced is one to avoid. They are typically pretty savvy and have a way of attracting everyone to entrust them with information.
*Excessively Interested in Personal Lives
A co-worker who has significantly more interest in yours, or other colleague’s personal lives, and tends to chat more about this than work issues, this person is likely a gossip…
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