by Kristeen Mandak

Created on: May 29, 2009

Unfortunately, in even the most professional of settings, there will always be a tattle-tale and a gossiper. Both can be unbearable, and if not abstained from, can cause more trouble for their co-workers. However, which is worse and should be avoided at all costs? Let's first look at the basic components of each.

THE TATTLETALE

You are innocently chatting with a co-worker during a coffee break when you suddenly feel something from behind you. You turn around and see another co-worker, making an ineffective attempt to hide and listen in on your conversation. For goodness sakes, you are just talking about your child's upcoming birthday party! Who is this person?

It is the classic tattletale! They seem to lurk in the shadows and surface without any warning. Their job (besides the one they should actually be doing), is to eavesdrop and to fish for a damaging piece of information against another, in order to make themselves look better. Generally, they have low self-esteem, so they thrive on tattletaling. Be careful though: some are quiet and shy, while some appear to be outgoing and pretend to be everyone's best friend until they stab them in the back.

Hence, watch what you say in the office, whether you are on the clock or not. Did you have a wild weekend you want to talk to your friend about at lunch? Go somewhere else, or, better yet, save it for when you get home. We all have lives outside of work, but a tattletale will take a piece of information and turn it into incriminating evidence to twist your boss's opinion of you.

THE GOSSIPER

The biggest difference between a gossiper and a tattletale is that the former is outgoing and wants to share information with just about everyone in the office. Like the tattletale, they like to fish for dirt on others, but they do not necessarily want to use it against them, but rather have something important to talk about with others.

Gossipers can be tricky to avoid, because they like to follow you around, or share other people's business with you without your asking for it. Even worse, gossipers usually are not looking to better themselves for their boss; they are the ones who are talking dirt about the boss. In such situations, the best thing to do is to walk away or change the subject. Shunning a gossiper can result in gossip about how lame you are for not wanting to gossip. Do not let this get to you; you are truly the better person for avoiding such conduct all together.

SO WHICH IS WORSE?

As aggravating as they both may be, the gossiper is the more annoying of the two. Unlike a tattletale, the office gossiper is more difficult to avoid, and many succumb to their unprofessional conversations. At least with a tattletale, you can just watch your actions and what you say at work. They usually give up on you if you aren't producing anything of worth to tattletale about.

The gossiper on the other hand is more relentless. They drone on and on, and if you fail to participate, you can become a target for further gossip. In the end, a tattletale is seen as more harmless and overlooked. The gossiper inevitable loses (sometimes their job), as a result of their actions.

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