You know, I have this one coworker who is the office newswire. I call her my personal, human-powered newsletter. She’s super friendly and always has a smile, but she has this one habit that can be a bit tricky.
It always happens the same way. I’ll be at the coffee machine, just waiting for my cup to fill, and she’ll appear beside me like magic.
“Hey, you!” she’ll say, in a cheerful, hushed tone. “So, I heard something you might find interesting…”
And then, she’ll lean in and share a little piece of news. It might be something like, “Did you know that someone in accounting might be transferring?” or “I overheard that the boss wasn’t happy with the presentation last week.” It’s never mean-spirited, you know? It’s always delivered like she’s just letting you in on a secret.
The thing is, it puts me in a really awkward spot. I don’t want to be rude, because she’s genuinely trying to connect. But I also don’t want to be a part of the rumor mill. I’d find myself standing there, nodding with my full coffee cup, not knowing what to say. Do I agree? Do I ask for more details? It just feels… icky.
It became an ongoing little dance for us at the coffee station. I started to feel a little ping of anxiety whenever I saw her heading my way.
Finally, I figured out a gentle way to handle it. The next time she leaned in with a “So, I heard…”, I just gave her a warm smile and said, “You know, I’m probably the last person who should be trusted with secrets! I’d hate to get the details wrong. How was your weekend, though? Did you do anything fun?”
I just gently steered the conversation away. And it worked! She got the message without me having to be confrontational. She still shares the occasional harmless bit of office news, but the real gossip has mostly stopped. Now we just chat about our weekends, and our coffee breaks are a lot more relaxing.
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