Harmless office chitchat - or poisonous gossip?

Dear Annie: I started a new job about a year ago, as part of a product-development team with about 30 other people, and I like it a lot, except for one thing. My co-workers spend an awful lot of time gossiping about each other. While some of the chitchat is harmless ("So-and-So is wearing a nice tie today" or whatever), much of it is really negative and potentially damaging to the people being talked about. At times I think all this scuttlebutt is poisoning the atmosphere around here, and I know a couple of my colleagues agree with me, but we're at a loss as to what to do about it. Any suggestions? -Speak No Evil

Read More...

[Source: Financial news of the day - CNNMoney.com]