The entire conversation of two women I overheard in a crowded MTR carriage yesterday was nothing but gossiping. They were making scathing attacks about some colleagues.
Sadly, such a conversation is not uncommon among co-workers. In fact, it is often what bonds them together. To add to the points made in the blogs of the last two days. Firstly, there are few contexts where the phenomenon "familiarity breeds contempt" is more clearly manifested than the workplace, which is where paid workers spend most of their waking time and where competition and conflict are very much part of the ecosystem. Secondly, gossiping is very much a part of life of this city. In fact, social circles composed of co-workers often disintegrate after some members have left the organisations because there are no longer the common topics and more importantly the common enemies. To quote Csikszentmihalyi again, "besides ... gossip there is not much else that engages their attention."
Sadly, such a conversation is not uncommon among co-workers. In fact, it is often what bonds them together. To add to the points made in the blogs of the last two days. Firstly, there are few contexts where the phenomenon "familiarity breeds contempt" is more clearly manifested than the workplace, which is where paid workers spend most of their waking time and where competition and conflict are very much part of the ecosystem. Secondly, gossiping is very much a part of life of this city. In fact, social circles composed of co-workers often disintegrate after some members have left the organisations because there are no longer the common topics and more importantly the common enemies. To quote Csikszentmihalyi again, "besides ... gossip there is not much else that engages their attention."
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