COVID can stop awkward office hugs and shared coffee pots, but it can’t shut down gossiping. While many have been making a point to stay in touch with family while they’re working from home, others have been making a point to keep up on all the juicy details about their coworkers.
Studies show that pre-COVID, we spent an average of 52 minutes a day gossiping, or as researchers define it: “talking about someone who is not present.” So yes, gossip isn’t always negative, and the reality is, studies find that most of the time it’s neutral. But since water coolers,and offices in general,have been #cancelled, people have started to get creative with their idle chatter.
Gossip has gone digital and no platform is safe from us talking behind our colleagues’ backs.Amy Larkin from Richmond admits she’s got a group text going with her fellow teachers to gossip,Jenny Ma from New York says she has multiple happy-hour Zoom groups to decompress, and Becca Nelson from Denver has resorted to scheduling one-on-one meetings to get the dirt. There are also the brave folks who text during video chats even though everyone can clearly see you’re looking in your lap.
- They’ve also gotten creative with their sources for juicy material. For example, Nelson has found many of her co-workers have public calendars full of juicy details that she’s surely shared with her office besties.
Source:Star Tribune