The Cubicle Times

CUBICLE - When there are people, there are rumors; when there are rumors, there are most likely certain truth behind them.  BUT, there is no place to talk about all the rumors!!! AHHHHHH…

Today some of us went out for lunch and were “discussing” certain people and the things we “observe” at work, and oh my, the “ooo’s” and “ahhhh’s” are nothing less than that from the suspense movies we watch at home!

“Hey, did you see so and so doing this and that?”

“No way, I saw them the other day talking about this and that!”

“Really? It must be because of this and that!! I bet you X & Y are going to happen… !”

Oh my, it was so fun!  After coming to the office, we couldn’t help but getting into our little circle to talk about these things more.  To extend the love further, we invited another person we trust into the circle.  Well, we were careful with our choice of words just in case, so it was really fun.  Then all of a sudden, one of the “subjects” walked past our cubicles, and everyone paused like deers in headlights… YIKES! Whether the “subject” caught a few sentences of what we were saying or not, here’s another lesson of what NOT to do at work!

So what can we do when we want to talk about things? What should we do?

1. Is the person present? I was told before that if you want to talk about somebody, then that somebody has to be there.  If you have to talk about somebody when he or she is not there, then it just might not be a good idea, especially when the topic is more negative than positive.

2. Does this help? I guess certain gossips are like stories you read on National Enquirer; absolutely useless! So I guess there really isn’t much point talking about them.  Of course, there are real warnings to make sure everyone keeps the job, then that might be a different story.

3. Who are we talking to? Sometimes people do rat us out, and it just makes things really complicated.  So it’s probably not a very good idea to talk about gossips at work.  Sometimes we can discuss these things at home, and even though your family members might not feel the same way about these topics, but at least you get them off your chest.

4. Is there a solution? If you absolutely want to talk about something at work, then maybe the topic can go from “observation” or “facts” to something like a solution.  If you see someone having a potential affair, then maybe discuss how you can help them stay away from that; if you see someone doing something illegal, then maybe some friendly warning is nice.  So are you working on a solution as well?

Anyway, it’s always easier said than done.  So let’s pause for 30 seconds to remind ourselves the above four points next time when a very juicy topic comes up, ya? ^_____^’