How To Avoid Work Drama 101

Avoiding work drama is relatively easy as long as one follows a few simple steps. Here are a few suggestions.

Do not:

• become involved with anyone you work with.
• say something about someone you wouldn't say to their face.
• volunteer information, however helpful.

Some of these may seem obvious. Nevertheless, people somehow manage to circumvent their own reasoning and self-defense mechanisms on a daily basis. For example, going out with someone you work with ...

It's ALWAYS a bad idea. By always, I mean 99.9999549er% of the time. Yeah, every now and again someone just might actually meet their soul mate this way, but probability says it's not going to happen. It doesn't matter how hot he or she is, their sign, how limber you hear they are, the number of commonalities, etc. Far more times than not, when it all goes up in flames, you're going to regret it. Nevermind the rumor mill, or when someone else starts going out with your fresh ex. I've heard of people quitting perfectly awesome jobs because of scenarios like this. Don't do it.

Another bad idea: talking smack about co-workers, however playfully. I'm baffled by this practice, only because in this dog-eat-dog world, so many people are out to get ahead by whatever means necessary. Since there's hardly honor among thieves, giving your "work friends" ammo can backfire when you least expect it. Most people at one point or another have seen the red-faced victims of this practice. However, if you're one of those people that don't mind it getting back to you, more power to you. I can't say it's the best career move, but if you're calling someone out on something, I've gotta respect that. If you're just talking shit, though, it'll eventually come back to haunt you.

This last point about volunteering info has some gray areas. If one of your managers is, say, cutting up people and burying them inside the bathroom walls, it might be a good idea to say something. If you "heard" something about how some co-worker's girlfriend ran the "midnight express" with two other co-workers, that's the kind of stuff you wanna stay out of. The last thing most people want is someone's baggage train crashing on their front door. Even as entertaining as it might be to continue the rumor blaze, it's worse when the messenger gets swept up in it, too.

Work drama just sucks. It's better to watch it from the outside looking in, dirt-free. Following these simple yet often overlooked tips can keep away that sinking feeling one gets when avoiding common sense backfires. Don't say I didn't warn you.