Dear Colette,
While I realize office gossip is not to be paid attention to, a few “oddities” have been occurring at work that, taken together, I find disturbing. The last unsettling piece is information from a colleague who told me she’s heard office whispers that my supervisor and two others are going to be “encouraged to leave.” Do I say anything to my supervisor about this? I realize it could be far from true. However, it’s not a good conversation, even if untrue.
– Should I Share?
Dear Should I Share?
Glad you reached out. Over the holidays, I was re-watching The Devil Wears Prada with my daughter. Ironically near the end, Anne Hathaway is sweating whether or not she should tell her boss, Meryl Streep, that she is being replaced. Anne heard the news through pillow talk. She finally tells Meryl, only to realize that she’s been manipulating and orchestrating behind the scenes, already knows of this possible replacement and even arranged another opportunity for said replacement, and Meryl retains her position. So … with that said, I’m torn too.
Questions I would ask myself:
Is the source to be trusted?
Is there any way to gather more info?
If you share, are you going to pay a price? If so, to whom and for how long?
Will it change the level of trust you have established with others?
If, after answering these questions, your instinct is still to share, I would simply say, “I’m uncomfortable sharing something I’ve heard about you, as it’s based on gossip and hearsay, but I’m more uncomfortable not sharing. Overheard someone say that you and two others from the executive team may be encouraged to leave. I don’t know what that means, I just know if I were in your shoes, I’d want to know.”
