Preoccupations: Workplace Gossip? Keep It to Yourself
November 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under Career News and Advice
I’M a technical service assistant at PrintingForLess.com, an online printing company based in Livingston, Mont. I’m part of a three-person team. We provide quality control for print jobs, call local customers to notify them their orders are ready and send sample packs to potential clients. We also help other departments with special projects and take turns sitting at the front desk, greeting customers and answering the phone.
Anne Sherwood for The New York Times
Shayla McKnight says the no-gossip policy at PrintingForLess.com, an online printing company, has helped foster a great sense of teamwork.
At the beginning of my employment interview two years ago, Marne Reed, the human resources manager who interviewed me, mentioned the company’s no-gossip policy. She said something like this: “There’s no back-stabbing here, and no office politics. Gossiping and talking behind someone’s back are not tolerated.”
I remember thinking: “Really? That’s odd. How is that possible?” Everywhere I’ve worked people have gossiped, like when someone got into trouble or was laid off.
But I signed the company’s “agreement to values” form, and I remember feeling optimistic. The policy sounded refreshing. Now that I’ve been here for a while, I can say that it makes one heck of a difference in the work environment.
At my last job, gossip was rampant. So many people had negative attitudes. Workers would become frustrated if one person was slacking off, so they’d vent about it.
I, for one, was afraid to say anything because I didn’t know who might repeat something …
Read the original article at NYTimes