To the office novice there are many do's and don'ts when it comes to the rules of office politics as it relates to the boss; which is much different than water cooler gossip about random co-workers. Make no mistake about it, gossip travels fast no matter who the object of discussion is, however, the consequences can be dire if it's management and it gets back to them.

We have all worked for someone who was the biggest (insert expletive)! on the planet, but learning how to smile through gritted teeth and the boss be none the wiser is a skill which is aquired by understanding that there are many levels of loyalty to said boss for diffrent reasons.

Some of your coworkers are friends and maybe lifelong friends who know full well the boss's shortcomings but are actual friends; loyal and corporate minded and in their minds and hearts, he or she can do no wrong and if they do, it was for the good of the company.

Then you have (for lack of a better word) the office "snitch", whose entire existence is to highlight everyone else's shortcomings and elevate their own competence thereby serving a dual purpose; keeping the boss abreast of everything going on in the office and enhancing and securing their own position within the company.

Perhaps the gossip is directly related to the fact that the boss hires a new assistant every few months because "variety is the spice of life " and the new girl or guy livens up the work environment, only the boss is happily or unhappily married and it is common knowledge that the lunch hours have gotten increasingly long and the new hire and the boss stroll in much past the start of the second part of the work day.

With the job market as competitive as it is, the politics of office gossip is low on the scale of what is truly important in the day to day. You can't escape it, at the lunch table, in the restroom, the parking lot before and after work and everywhere in-between. The key is to learn to be a good listener without passing judgement or weighing in with commentary for or against whom ever the gossip happens to be about and to know most asurredly that you too have, at one time, been the subject of the same innuendo buzzing around; whenever you step into an area and the conversation shuts off like a faucet.

In either case the best way to cope when your boss is the office gossip is to make sure you are adequately performing your job duties with little to no commentary to anyone other than your closet friends and you had better make sure it is a friend. If gossip is just gossip and it is not compromising the function of the company or the integrity of the work than this too shall pass until the next wave of gossip floats through the office at which time the cycle starts all over again.

Learn more about this author, Patricia Arnold.
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