Office gossip popular to kill work hours, even in lavatory
(eastday)
Updated: 2005-01-26 10:00

About 80 percent of office workers say they enjoy hearing gossip in the workplace but only 20 percent claim they would participate in such activities themselves, according to a new survey by Zhaopin.com.

In a poll of 4,436 Shanghai employees by the Web-based headhunter, nearly half of those surveyed listed the office as the top place for colleagues to talk about others' private affairs.

Outside the office ranked second at 32 percent followed by the canteen at 11 percent.

The office coffee room and toilets were also popular choices for gossip, the survey said.

The survey was carried out over the Internet asking people about the gossip situation in their office and their attitude toward such activity.

"All work and no chat will make the office a dull place," said Liu Hao, a Zhaopin analyst.

"Office workers, especially young women, always need to chat to adjust from the high working pressure or to while away the hours," Liu said.

Changes in a company's human resources and welfare policies were all popular gossip topics, Liu added.

The survey also indicated more than 90 percent of respondents felt uneasy talking about colleagues' personal relationship with bosses, others' lifestyle or living habits, co-workers' bias against each other and love affairs.

Meanwhile, 54 percent complained there were people in their office eager to probe into and pass on information about others' personal affairs.

Thirty-six employees polled said they had been badmouthed by others.

Xiao li, assistant to a general manager at a local company, used to tell one of her colleagues who she trusted about their boss' bias toward subordinates.

The information then spread and led to direct conflict between Xiao's boss and colleagues.

Xiao was later downgraded to an office clerk after her angry boss learned that she was the source of the gossip.

Nearly half of those surveyed said they wouldn't voluntarily tell their feeling to colleagues.

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