Gossips: Do u?

u wud ve followed every step in the following on how to not to get involved in gossiping, but there is no guarantee that u wont be ended up in some.. how tight lipped u r, how reserved u r, ppl can find a way of making stories.. why do they do?
why only abt u? why not abt others?

* If they feel that this gossip may bring u closer to them where currently u r not
* If they want to be ur intimate, or soulmate or some other thing, which they tried to be but failed
* If they want to impress someone with these stories
* If they dont ve much to do n find u so vulnerable
* If they want to avoid u n they r sure that this gossip will make it true
* If u had a fight with them n unfortunately they have a big mouth
* If u r becoming strong in ur area n they r jealous abt u
* If u r close to somebody whom they dont like
* If u ve a loose tongue [dont u ve? forget it.. :)]
* If ur presence is a threat to their position or career growth
* If ur boss is appreciating u infront of everyone, but they didnt get it even though they r senior or into the same job scope
* If ur circle of friends is growing n theirs going down (ofcourse, big mouths will ve to shut one day)

can keep adding these points.. pls find wht else cud be the reason if u r effected by some, if not clear "why?" post ur question n situation as a reply to this..

unless u r going to be deeply effected by these gossips on ur family n personal life.. reply those morons with one simple answer.. "I dont Care" ?? , sounds nice but better not to.. answer with " ", :) got me?, Silence.. just keep quiet, wait until they dig their own hole.. cause the more they r succeding in their gossips, the faster ppl will come to know the true colors, let them succeed.. if possible, help them to succeed.. :)

Now lets go n ve a detailed look on this..
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Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.
A Spanish Proverb

Gossip can be found in just about every office. Some will say it’s just harmless fun but rarely is that the case. In fact, it’s a great way to destroy your own self confidence. Gossip is seductive though and it’s very easy to get caught up in it. But, have you ever thought about why you do it when you know you shouldn’t?

Here are the main reasons people gossip:
• It makes you feel more powerful or popular
• To attract attention and feel centre stage for a moment
• It makes you feel like you’re part of a group (bond with co-workers)
• To be seen as “in the know”
• Because you’re frustrated and just want to vent

In other words, we mostly gossip because we feel powerless and not in control of our current situation. Gossip is an attempt at gaining back that control. It’s also sometimes used as a way to boost your self confidence but it ends up doing the exact opposite. If you find that you do gossip, you need to take a look at what’s happening in your life. Do you feel like you’re powerless? What positive changes can you make? It’s important when you’re feeling out of control that you’re able to take action instead of only reacting to the events that occur in your life.

The other side of this is that if someone gossips to you, you need to ask, “why are they telling you this information?”. You’ll probably find that at least one of the above points will answer your question. This tells you a lot about the person who’s gossiping to you.

What Really Happens When You Gossip:

So, how destructive is gossip to you? Take a look at what happens when you gossip:
• You lose all credibility with your co-workers and people will no longer trust you. They’ll wonder what you’re saying about them to other people. They'll also feel if they tell you something in confidence, you may spread that information. Once you lose your integrity, it’s very hard to get it back.

• You may find that the person you gossiped to will go and tell the very person you talked about. Instant office conflict. Also, you’ll probably feel bad about saying those things in the first place. Or if you have gossiped in an email, other people could end up seeing that email (walk up behind the person when they’re reading it, it gets forwarded by mistake, etc.). Also, people tend to keep email forever so something you said 6 months ago may come back to haunt you.

• You’re going to worry about what others are saying about you. You end up making yourself paranoid when you probably don’t need to be.

• It creates conflict for no reason.

• It decreases the morale of your workplace which in turn will affect your own mind set.

• It cuts productivity; yours and others.

• You may end up wasting a lot of energy worrying about things that never happen (layoffs, change in staff positions).

• You get wrong information (could be very damaging depending on what you do with the information). Someone says “so and so said this about you.” It may not be true and now you have bad feelings about someone and a situation that may never have happened.

• It could affect your career prospects (if management knows that you gossip, they’re far more likely to pass you over for a promotion). Also, at some point in the future you may end up having to work for that person you gossiped about.

• Karma – remember the old saying, “what goes around, comes around”. When we spread rumours and gossip, it will end up coming back to hurt us.

• We usually end up creating a negative work environment and who needs that?

These are all things that end up damaging your self confidence.

Before You Gossip, Ask Yourself These Questions:

• Why are you doing it? (power play, to feel like you belong, to make yourself more popular)
If these are your reasons, then don’t do it. The wrong motives will lead you into trouble every time.
• Would you want other people to know that kind of information about you?
if you wouldn’t, then don’t say anything.

Usually it’s best to just “bite your tongue”. And the more often you resist the temptation of gossip, the easier it will get. Gossip is just not worth it.

How to Not Get Involved:

So, what do you do if you work in a gossip infested workplace? Here’s a couple of suggestions for the next time someone starts gossiping to you:

• Change the subject – try to have something else you can talk about. Make it a positive subject.

• Distraction techniques – "Hey, do you want to go get a coffee?” Get the person distracted on to something else.

• Don’t say anything – just let them finish and don’t say anything. They’ll quickly learn that you aren’t interested in gossiping.

• Tell the person – you can tell the person you’re not comfortable about talking about the particular subject. For example if someone is telling you about the latest rumour that your department is about to undergo staff cuts, you can say , “it’s a rumour. I don’t want to think about that until I know it’s true. I can handle whatever happens. It’s not worth worrying about things that may never happen.” Or if someone starts talking about someone else, you can say, “Let’s wait to discuss that until Joe can be here in person.”

Each time you avoid getting involved in gossip, the easier it will get. It’s the first couple of times that it will be a conscious effort to resist the temptation. It helps if you can remember the benefits you will gain by not slipping into this bad habit. You will find that your self confidence starts to improve greatly and people will have more respect for you. You’ll probably also find that you don’t waste anywhere near as much as time as you used to worrying about things that never come to pass. You’ll be able to focus on what’s important and what you want to accomplish in your life.


Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.
Gandhi

Playing hard at work!

Playing hard at work!

Who would have thought of the office as a place to put your feet up and let your hair down? This may just well be the case as Indrani Rajkhowa Banerjee finds out…

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

IT'S late night and the office is still abuzz with activity… computers are on, printers whirring, coffee machine buzzing. The atmosphere is that of serious activity, but the faces betray the gravity of the situation. There is a sense of relaxed easiness in the air, somewhat akin to that of a lounge bar sans the dim lights and the plush duvets; the mood groovy.

So, who's at work? Mostly bachelors.

A growing trend observed in the corporate world is of unmarried men staying back in the office after work hours. Young, brilliant and single, they aren't ready to mingle, not on weekdays at least! They'd rather enjoy the privileges of the office environ and take an easy ride back home in the office cab.

“I feel I own the place. There's Net, AC, phone, food, coffee, and most importantly, no boss around,” quips 24-year-old Manas Goel, who works in a Bangalore-based MNC consultancy firm.

But it wouldn't be fair to club every late worker in the same bracket. “Some take this opportunity to put on their thinking caps, while others attend conference calls with their counterparts in different time zones. It's more of a business need,” says a senior manager with ABN Amro Bank.

Most people in the managerial level view this as a growing trend in research centres, software companies and off-shore offices as they encourage this work pattern. “This happens mostly in organisations which hire a large number of freshers. In the initial phase, youngsters find the swanky cafeterias, gyms and other gizmos enticing. But as they mature, they get more professional,” says, Andheri Prakash Babu, country HR director, Amazon.

However, the trend gets dangerous when it becomes part of the company culture to seriously work late. There are cases when bosses endorse this by staying late themselves and expecting others to do so too, providing them with various lucrative offers in the form of taxi and food vouchers, and of course a good feedback. But the consequences of frequent late nights, according to industry bosses, are often not positive. “When an office makes staying late a culture, the future of its employees and the organisation is bleak. We don't enforce any particular work plan because, we believe, at the end of the day, every worker is accountable for his or her deliverance of work,” says Pankaj Bhargava, head, HR, Marico. “Anyway, hanging around in the office does not make one a better worker. On the contrary, if he doesn't enjoy his work, staying late hours will prove detrimental,” he adds. “Organisations in Europe and the US are strict about workers coming on time and leaving on time. And the workers work for eight hours with focus and zeal,” points out Babu.

According to an HCL spokesperson, “Long working hours may be counterproductive for both, the employer and the employee. From the employee's point of view, if he spends most of his waking hours in the office, he does not come back fresh for the next day's work. This affects his efficiency and harms the productivity of the employer as well. Hence we encourage people to work hard during office hours and enjoy a healthy social life outside of it.”

“Whatever the reason for working overtime over a long period, it is harmful for both, the employee and the organisation. They make way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. The other problem is - they aren't pleasant company either as they often complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or angry,” says an excerpt from Infosys’ Narayana Murthy’s speech during a mentor session.


“People who put on their thinking caps in the office can do so anywhere. They don't need the office ambience to 'inspire' them. In fact, virtual setups and wi-fi have enabled workers to stay connected to their counterparts even from their bedroom,” says Zubin Modi, senior VP, IndusInd Bank.
AFTER HOURS · Try your hand at an outdoor sport· Learn music · Visit a book cafe · Hunt for cheap cyber cafes· Rustle up innovative meals· Get a girlfriend/boyfriend

So all you bachelors out there, there's a life beyond office too! Watch a movie where it should be watched; listen to music where it should be heard. Also, remember life changes when you get married and start a family.

As Murthy, considered one of the best bosses in the world puts it, “Love your job, but never fall in love with your company because you never know when the company stops loving you!”

thanks to Big B & Indrani.. pls keep sending me.. :)
indrani.rajkhowa@timesgroup.com