DIARY OF A SHY BLACK WOMAN: GOSSIP

Friday, October 19, 2007

GOSSIP

How is a shy girl to deal with all the gossip at work. People talk about other people and I just listen. I'm to shy too say anything and I don't contribute to the gossip, however I feel just as wrong for not telling them to stop. I'm just as bad for listening.

This one of the reasons why I find the socialization aspect of work environments so difficult. Its no different from when I was in elementary school or high school. Same thing but more pitiful b/c these are adults...not children and teens.

I'm at work now sneaking in this entry while its fresh on my mind.

The worst part is I know that if people are talking about others behind their backs, they are doing it to me too. They are talking about me being late to work all the time and me being so damn quiet. I just know it and it makes my anxieties worse.

Until then...

2 comments:

ThiaOct 19, 2007 05:58 PM
I know how you feel. I think my co workers do the same thing to me. I think they can't understand why I'm so quiet, withdrawn and don't always have something to say about something, and I'm not like the loud black woman they see so much of on television. As a result they see me as kind of standoffish(I think I spelled that right) and aloof
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JennOct 23, 2007 06:34 AM
Office politics suck. And I agree, it IS just like high school. It's ridiculous! I stay as far away from gossip as possible and try to stay on good terms with everyone, but people still will gossip around me. I just keep my mouth shut. I don't want to be in the middle of any of that stuff.

I've always been the quiet one in most environments and a lot of people mistake my being quiet and shy and introverted for bitchy, snobby or weird. I used to let it bother me but for the most part I don't any more. I know I'm none of those things and there's nothing wrong with being shy, quiet and/or introverted. If my personality makes people uncomfortable, it's really not my problem. I can't worry about it. People are going to say and think what they want anyway. They need to stop being so judgmental.
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