It had happened and it will again happen, it has not spared anyone in any industry irrespective of which designation one is in or department they belong to; it has not spared us in our relations with others as well, let it be friendship or anything else, so how can our corporate work environment be untouched.
This ‘touch’ (you may call it a virus or a parasite) is called “Grapevine”. It is actively involved in corporate sector. Like the name goes, these act as creepers.
Grapevine, the very basic definition of this is “something which is learnt unofficially and informally through gossip or rumors”.
These Grapevines are actually part and parcel of any group activity inside or outside the organization.
This type of nebulous phenomenon is common no matter you are a clerk, an executive or even a senior manager. Grapevine grows stronger and stronger day by day and also depends on number of groups formed. These are normally cultivated in areas like dinning hall, pantry, parking lots and wherever people get in groups.
These are more common during the period of appraisals, mergers, collaborations, deployment etc and they move haphazardly breaking the formal line of communication. They are so vague and unclear, they actually tend to take you in a different set of organizational climate altogether.
Many face this, I faced it, and one can’t deny the fact that when you get involved into this, you also become a part of the game. These Grapevines are good for people who are working in groups and teams as this acts as a catalyst for making the team more intimate and stronger. Nevertheless, this is an easiest mode of communicating, it has the capacity of penetrating even the highest security because it crosses all the boundaries and fences and gets directly with people.
To my surprise even those who don’t want to be a part of this communication indirectly become part of it. I have noticed that this type of grapevine is beneficial for the organization in many aspects. 75% of the organization policies and procedures are shared through Grapevine communication. Best example: The first day of your college or office, people telling you this is not accepted, this is the way its appreciated, you have to have good rapport with this person you will get appraised else no, s/he likes it in this manner only!!!!. And who can forget those college and school days during exam times as in this will come and that will come, this is included and that is excluded, so on and on….
This method of communication are actually very informative many a times, its up to us for believing or ignoring it but certainly you cant shrug your shoulders off from it.
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Hey TheSkillMill,
ReplyDelete"The beatings will continue until morale improves!"
Be careful what you tell others. You don’t need to be unfriendly at work; just be cautious about what you say and who you say it to. Heed to what I say here “What is told in the ear of a women is often heard 100 miles away.”
If you know for sure a bully is spreading gossip about you and what he’s saying, ask yourself, “Is any of this true?” Sometimes we need to hear a message or at least part of it. While gossip isn’t the best way to get feedback, be open to listening to what is said. Maybe there’s a kernel of truth you can adopt.
How will you make it through this 9 to 5 grind? A few harmless office pranks can really help make the time pass faster and freshen the mood at the office.
I love office pranks and I love to see everyone laugh. Keep it clean and safe and have fun.
If you are going to prank others, expect them to return the favor! Once in awhile my victims will get revenge on me! This is even more fun for me than pulling a prank on them. This is all part of the fun. They are fun, scary and lighten up the day! Office pranks in good spirit can really help morale.
So if today is another somewhat-partially-semi-productive day at work. It is at these times that it is absolutely essential that I tug at my brain cells that are designed for pranks. Ok, tugged. I must warn you – make sure your target is a good sport – so that a fun war starts between the two of you. Or try your level best to be completely anonymous, so that NOTHING is traced back to you. That’s your call. Just make a judgment call before you do anything – you don’t want to get fired, right? In this crazy world of constant peril and imminent danger, to keep employees stay focused they need to laugh and feel connected to their co-workers. What a better way to accomplish this than to pull off a couple of crazy stunts on an unsuspecting subject?
Andy remains with best regards.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteWell, but here we are talking about "GOSSIP". Grapvine is not a prank or anything..its just the normal chit-chat what employees do... which at times can be harmful. But, coming to pranks well,i personally dont like nonsense pranks which will disturb people not only physically but also emotionally.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey Nandini,
ReplyDeleteGossip can be termed as engaging in talk that is scandalous or sensational, generally of a personal nature. Such information is usually spread through word of mouth and spreads rapidly from one person to another. Most of the time gossip consists of exaggerated facts, and almost never is there concrete proof. speaking about an individual who is not present, wherein what is said may be insulting or injurious to the party not present; of which speaking of things have no other purpose but to entertain the parties involved in the conversation. It’s about Spreading rumours or information about someone that is not true.
If it’s true, its not gossip. “Remember evil prevail when good men do nothing”.
You might not expect it; this could be because it happens behind your back. Not just yourself, but everyone we work with and run into. When mongers get together and spread gossip, it’s usually not never about nice things.
And chit-chat is a web definition of gossip which is not exactly correct.
Prank is defined as an action that causes an entertaining and/or funny situation at the cost of another person's pride, property, sense of trust, time, etc. Some pranks can cause injury or harm. To be 100% clear, Power pranks prides itself on delivering prank ideas that are of good nature and intend humour and good spirited actions. I do not support injury, property damage, mental stress, or anything that both the person making the prank and the person being pranked will not laugh at and accept as a prank of good intention. I play pranks on people whom I feel close to my heart, whom I believe mentally strong, and whom I believe morally strong enough to take it and give it back with the same spirit and my pranks are only intend to educate people.
Recently I played a prank on stronger people be it morally or mentally, whom I don’t know personally and won’t be any chance too..... But it made us to interact well through SNS.
Gossip and Prank are like twins, gossip is nothing but mirror image of bad prank.
We have seen many lives (celebrities) ruined just because of gossips.
Being a youngster definitely you will be attracted to Gossip, it will happen to everyone.....................
Gossip remains for longer time, since it is not true but it is a bully played with intent and Prank will be remembered for a short time, since it appears real but not real, companies play it just to improve employee’s morale.
Now I leave it to your wisdom.
Still if you feel I am wrong then please correct me, I am always ready to correct my self if I am Mr. Wrong.
Andy remains with best regards.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteSo true i agree with you, my only concern is gossip is the factor which is "the topic" and i mean that it has nothing to do with prank. I guess there is a lot of difference between gossip and prank, so gossip plays a key factor in whistleblowing also which many a times is negative, but pranks are entirely different its not like gossip, if you can add more about "grapevine" it will be a good value addition. Do correct me if im wrong.
Thanks.
Andy/Ananth
Hey Nandani,
ReplyDeleteHow you treat others is how they will treat you.
The aim of negative gossip is to portray the victim in a negative light. We must bear in mind that nobody is totally good and nobody is totally bad. The perfect person just does not exist. Now if we let our thinking and actions go uncontrolled, we can find much to dislike in almost anyone. By the same token, if we manage our thinking properly, and think great toward people, we can find many qualities to like and admire in the same people.
We all do bad things when we are desperate. don't we?
It's better not to draw conclusions for just one bad thing, the only concern that I feel is never let the bad in you dominate the good in you, If that happens then it means your holding a tag called bad.
And I am into blogs to gain some knowledge not to correct people, so I can't correct "you". What all I say is my opinion which may be right or many times end up in the wrong side.
My only request is to edit your previous comment and remove my name in the ending part.
Andy with best regards.