Gossip and good business

Title

Creator

The Chronicle

Language

English

Year

1965

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

GOSSIP AND GOOD BUSINESS “Let your people gossip and you will have contended employees”. This suggestion comes from the U.S. and is beginning to run the circuit in West German concerns. What do the experts think of the U.S. idea? Is gossip as spread out as some sociolo gists think? Coffee cups clatter. Cake forks shovel creamy pies. The rest is talk. Six office girls talk during work. They do what according to the ex perts is the normal thing to do and what costs the con cerns millions of Marks monthly. They pay homage to gossip, the original sin of all offices. Marita Grundgens, the sis ter of Hamburg’s deceased star actor, Gustav Grund gens, has thoroughly studied the role which gossip plays. Employed by a Solinger me tal concern, she came up with the following: “Everyone gossips about the other. The carrier of gossip can become quite dangerous.” At worst, he is in a position to destroy a person’s work and his future. In order to prevent as much of this happening as possible, Marita Grundgens hit on the idea of shutting up gossip with music. “Those who hear music keep their mouths shut.” It is a well meant sugges tion, but unfortunately it does not work practically. Gossip is tough to reform. The talking continues even with music. This fact caused other res ponsible people to realize that man, cannot live without gossip. Prof. H. Distel, a work psychologist from the U.S., favours gossip for easing ten sions, “Take a break and talk about your neighbour.” After that the work will go along better again. October 1965 51 American personnel chiefs immediately latched on to Distel’s ideas and began to support the Kaffeeklatch among the employees. The motive: Our people are coming closer together. The feeling of unity intensi fies. Work atmosphere gets looser. It went so far in U.S. con cerns that employes have coined such phrases as "Love goes through the coffee pot.” "Flirting only gets nice through the Kaffeeklatsch.” Many a couple, dedicate and bashful by nature, were brought together because of all the talking. “Gossip is essential,” is also the opinion of the direc tor of a West German coffee house chain which employs 30,000 persons. Naturally he does not say this because of love. "Man needs gossip as a pressure valve. Without this release, work would be gin to decline.” His is an optimistic view not shared by all personnel chiefs. Most are resigned and tolerate the news agencies without interfering. But they are aware of the fact that gossip is not only good for conversation, but that it also potentially jeopardizes the work community. "We have already gone through some trials,” com plained the director of a che mical concern in Hamburg. "It has happened that ru mors developed, that assump tions were treated as facts, and that innocent parties were persecuted.” Fortunately it is not often that one’s career is destroyed because of the colleagues’ gossip. The possibility that some gossipers will unwit tingly do good at a Kaffee klatsch is an American justi fication for letting them be. — The Chronicle. 52 PANORAMA

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