Work Gossip – huffingtonpost.com[/caption]

Happy happy Monday! Hope all of you corporate sisters out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day week-end, and that you are up and ready to face the day on this sunny Monday (at least on this side of the blogosphere)…Ok, ok, a bit too enthusiastic for a Monday morning, when many of us would rather get back under the covers and watch some gossip channel…

Well…about gossip, some good news is that it can actually help you at work. Unlike what Aunt Shayna’s advice may recommend, minding your own business at work may not exactly play to your best advantage. Actually, quite the opposite may prove to be true. Gossiping, positive gossiping that is, may actually very well turn out to be one of your main career advancement ingredients.

Spreading positive gossip about your work or department will pay back. As the famous saying goes, charity begins at home. And when it comes to gossiping, the rules are the same. Have you recently successfully completed an outstanding project? Has the department you manage been nominated for a Breakthrough Award? Or are you just working on new, exciting projects that may bring about some positive changes? Well, gossip about it. Good news and positive energy are contagious, and while they may shine some great light on you, they may also encourage others to follow suit.

Speak positively of others: if you have to spread gossip about others, let it be positive. And by the same token, let it reflect positively on you as well. Have a member of your tea who’s just been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the company? Gossip about her. Is your Director spearheading one of the most innovative projects since sliced bread? Yup, time to gossip.

Influence positive change through gossip: Not only should you use your gossiping power for your own and others’ career good, you can also encourage colleagues, managers and other stakeholders to join in the fun. Careers and career advancement are no longer what they used to be. As networking plays a huge part in what have increasingly become non-traditional career paths, we are called to non-traditional (and frankly more fun) devices, like some good ol’ (positive) gossiping.

Gossiping at work? Good for you…