How Do You Working Moms...

I manage a store/office. we have 12 employees and 10 are women. We do not allow gossip. If one of us starts, the others will kindly point it out. We all agree that drama in a workplace is not needed. If someone (and we all have them) is having a bad day, that person usually says something in the a.m. like hey guys sorry but I'm grouchy today please don't take offense. It really works. It helps that we all truly love our jobs. If someone is really in a funk then its time for special treatment. ie. chocolate I know it sounds strange but we all need a little boast now and then. It must work because we have a customers that come in just to feel better themselves. The sign above our door says "you don't have to be crazy to work here we train you." Im sure it sounds like a small ma @ pa business but I assure you it isn't. Our outlook is exactly what our clients need.

It all depends on how thick skinned you are? Some of us can let it roll off our backs and some can't. I agree with the response from Jen W. If you notice, most gossipers are gossipers for a reason. They don't like confrontation and the minute you confront them, they clam up or avoid you. So address the issues at the time they occur and eventually, you won't be hearing anything. They may think you are a prude or whatever, but bottom line, you won't have to be involved in any drama.
PS....if it's really that bad, quit. Afterall, you said it yourself, you have way too much going on in your life and you are working as a favor, not a need and if you are pregnant, stress is definitely something you can do without. Good Luck!

I am a little outspoken and have always hated gossip. I was the center of a lot if through my life, school and work. So when I hear people gossiping about people, especially when they may not really know the person well, I get very upset.

I have spoken my mind more than a few times. Once they were talking about someone that I am friends with and tried to get me into the conversation and I let them know I didn't appreciate them trying to ruin the reputation of someone I was friends with. You should have seen the look of SHAME on their faces.

Sometimes if people know you don't want to hear it, they won't try to drag you into it.

If you aren't as outspoken as I am you can still deter the talk. When someone brings up a juicy bit of gossip, like, "Did you hear what She did?" - Just respond to blatantly change the subject like, "Did I tell you what my daughter did last night?" They will get the hint you aren't into all the he said/she said baloney

I have found it's best to be a little on the aggressive side when it comes to dealing with gossip and drama. What I mean by that is if you hear that someone said something about you then confront them immediately. Say something like "so I hear you have something to say about me, let's hear it" or if you hear someone saying something about another coworker and you think it's out of line then say something like "come on ladies, this isn't high school, I think we can find something more interesting to talk about then petty gossip".

Confrontation makes people uncomfortable and usually if they think you will call them out on it then they will stop. Maybe they'll still talk behind your back but they will be way more careful about what they say to you or within your earshot and if you don't have to hear it then it shouldn't bother you anymore.

It's funny b/c I just had an episode at work where this worked really well for me. A coworker thought I did something that I didn't do and she made a few snide remarks to me then walked away. I walked right into her office and sat on her desk and demanded that she say that agian. She was a lot nicer the second time around and simply said that she was upset b/c of something I did. I told her that if she has a question about if I did something then she is to come and ask me about it and we will discuss it but I will absolutely NOT tolorate rude remarks or personal attacks, especially for something I wasn't even responsible for. I felt kind of bad b/c she spent the day crying in her office after that but she will definately think twice before doing anything like agian, at least with me.