Shhh….This One Action Can Destroy Your Career #AncientWisdomModernApplication #AncientWisdomModernRitual

Ancient Jewish wisdom indicates that guarding one’s speech is a key to personal and professional success (Pirke Avot, 6:6). A key way to implement this wisdom in the workplace is by avoiding gossip.

Gossip around the office is pretty common, almost everyone has either been a part of, or has been a victim of gossip. Office gossip has direct effect on its victims and it’s usually not veiled; it can come out as a quick put-down during an office meaning or a conversation. It’s important to remove gossip and negativity from your office life and not be a part of it. Keeping yourself away from negativity will help you function better around the office and feel less stressed about going to the office as a whole.

1) Be committed with yourself and other’s gossip won’t be as enticing. The first and one of the most important rules of avoiding gossip is committing yourself that you won’t be a part of negative gossip. It’s a part of being human to want to know the inside details of a juicy scoop, and this is where it all goes wrong. Constantly remind yourself that this is wrong, and that you don’t need to know something personal about a co-worker.            

2) Change the subject – it’s important to know how to change the subject in situations where gossip is about to happen. This way, you’re not only making it easier for yourself as you’re avoiding gossip, but it’s also beneficial for anyone else who’s listening in; keep yourself clean from gossip and you can stop it from spreading.

3) Don’t spread gossip – If you overhear gossip intentionally or unintentionally, don’t spread it. It’s good practice to not participate in office rumors all together, but if you’ve already indulged in it, keep it to yourself. If you overhear something, keep the information and don’t repeat it anywhere. A single rumor can ruin someone’s career or life, so be careful.

4) Don’t vent about professional frustration to someone you don’t trust completely – office life is a busy and stressful life, and we need to go off and vent about things once in a while. Instead of sharing thoughts to anyone and everyone in the office, keep a specific group of people that you trust completely to avoid gossip spreading. A single world can be misinterpreted in many different ways, so keeping your thoughts to someone you trust completely is the best place to keep them.

5) Keep your private affairs personal: Do not discuss private or sensitive information, especially about relationships, which might be common gossip fodder. There might be no statistics to back up any gossip.

6) Ensure the people you speak to are not gossips: it is easy sufficient to simply point out a name to a person, and if you start listening to gossip as an end result, avoid that individual. Cross into your "staying out of the gossip loop" exercises while speaking to them.

At the end of the day, keeping away from office gossip is great for both your professional life as well as your personal life. Keep sane and keep your mental health good by avoiding gossip altogether.

Bradley Caro Cook, Ed.D., is the co-founder of Career Up Now and believes that individuals can flourish by applying ancient wisdom in their modern lives . He is a Birthright Israel Fellow, Upstart alumnus, Eli Talk Fellow, and a member of the Schusterman ROI Community. He is co-author of 48 Sensibilities for Professional Success, speaks nationally, helps for and non-profits exceed their goals and can be reached via email: [email protected]