Being a gossip doesn’t mean you can’t keep secrets

“There is a common misconception that if you like to gossip, you must be untrustworthy, but I believe the best gossips are actually very good secret keepers,” McKinney continues. After all, a piece of gossip is only valuable if you know how and when to deploy it; talking too much can cause you to lose your ammunition. “Ultimately, gossip is knowledge and knowledge is power – the best people know when to stay quiet and when to speak up.”

Gossiping (well) at work is an essential part of wellbeing

According to a 2021 study, despite often being seen as negative, the benefits of gossip in the workplace include fostering team cohesion, improving communication by sharing information informally, helping to identify potential issues within the company and even contributing to a sense of belonging among employees when used positively by creating social bonds and building trust within a team.

“Offices are always such fascinating places because, much like school, you’re shoved into a community with people you wouldn’t otherwise hang out with, which can make things very interesting and very complicated, as well as ripe for some of the best kinds of gossip,” McKinney agrees. “We constantly test the waters with each other: ‘Did you see Jane’s email this week?’ ‘Have you heard about what happened with John in the board meeting?’”

Her first rule of sharing at work? Only gossip at your level of power. “If you’re the CEO, I’m afraid it’s tough shit; you need to find someone outside of the company to gossip with, because it’s just not appropriate to gossip down,” she explains. “The same goes for management: you cannot gossip about people that work under you.”

“I get paid to gossip – this is why I think we should all be doing more of it (especially at work)”