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Office Gossip

Rahul overhears a rumor spreading about a coworker and has to decide how to handle it without getting pulled into office gossip.

Rahul, Colleague

Key words and phrases

rumora piece of information spread without confirmation that it's trueThere's a rumor going around that the team will be restructured.
spread the wordto pass information from person to personSomeone spread the word before the announcement was made.
behind someone's backtalking about someone without them knowingIt's unfair to criticize a colleague behind their back.
hearsayinformation heard from others but not directly verifiedI wouldn't act on hearsay alone.
stay out of itto avoid getting involved in a situationHe decided to stay out of it and not take sides.
credible sourcesomeone reliable enough to be trusted for accurate informationI only believe news from a credible source.
escalateto make a situation worse or more seriousRepeating the rumor will only escalate the situation.
confrontto speak directly to someone about an issueShe decided to confront the person spreading the rumor.
grapevinean informal way information spreads through a workplaceI heard it through the office grapevine.
take sidesto support one person or group in a disagreementHe refused to take sides in the office dispute.
discretionthe quality of being careful and tactful about sensitive mattersHe handled the situation with discretion.
blow out of proportionto make something seem more serious than it really isThe whole thing got blown out of proportion.
trustworthyable to be relied on as honest and dependableShe's known as a trustworthy colleague who keeps confidences.
reputationthe general opinion people have about someoneSpreading rumors can damage someone's reputation.
clarifyto make something clearer or remove confusionIt's best to clarify things directly with HR.
unverifiednot confirmed to be trueHe refused to share unverified information.
workplace culturethe shared values and behavior within an organizationGossip can harm a healthy workplace culture.
professional boundarya limit on behavior appropriate for the workplaceHe kept a professional boundary and didn't engage in gossip.
keep it confidentialto not share information with othersShe asked him to keep the conversation confidential.
set the record straightto correct false information with the truthHe wanted to set the record straight about what actually happened.

Useful sentences

Dialogue

ColleagueDid you hear? They're saying Priya is about to be let go.

RahulWhere did you hear that? It sounds like hearsay to me.

ColleagueSomeone in HR mentioned it, I think. It's spreading fast.

RahulI'd rather not spread the word until we know it's from a credible source.

ColleagueYou're right. Talking about her behind her back isn't fair anyway.

RahulExactly. If it escalates, it could really damage her reputation.

ColleagueSo what should we do if someone else brings it up?

RahulI think it's best to stay out of it and not take sides.

ColleagueFair enough. Maybe someone should just ask her directly.

RahulYes, that's the only way to set the record straight.

Common mistakes

Quick quiz

1. What does "hearsay" mean?

2. What does "stay out of it" mean?

3. Complete: "I heard it through the office ___."

4. What does "blow out of proportion" mean?

5. What does "set the record straight" mean?

6. What is a "credible source"?

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