Gossip might be why you're missing your workplace so much during the lockdown

We've all grown up being told that gossip isn't the nicest thing and we must refrain from it but we all end up doing it anyway, don't we? And more often than not, we gossip at the workplace. In fact, experts are now claiming that not being able to gossip might be one of the biggest factors in making people feel low during the lockdown. Of course, gossip doesn't have to always be negative. More often than not, it's either neutral or positive.

“Interpersonal interactions and communication have always played a key role in people enjoying work -- colleagues from work can be a great social support network,” Samir Parikh, Director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences at Fortis Healthcare, told IANS. “In the current circumstances, it is natural that people are missing out on that interaction and face-to-face contact, which may be leading to a sense of boredom and monotony,” Parikh said.

What he means to say is that people are missing the healthy banter they had at work with their colleagues. “It is quite that a sudden change of working place will somehow affect the mental status,” said Pallavi Joshi, Clinical Psychologist. A study also found that on an average people tend to gossip for at least 52 minutes a day. It also found that younger people tend to opt for more negative gossip as compared to older people whereas extroverts gossip more than introverts.

“What’s important is that the conversations stay positive and promote togetherness, and not gossip that crosses a line,” Parikh said, adding that banter about day-to-day life helps us stay connected. “But it’s important that it must be with mutual consent and not cross boundaries”. “Given the lockdown situation, it’s a good idea to stay connected with friends and colleagues through individual and group chats and video calls to maintain a positive morale and have meaningful conversations. Social media can also play an important role in this, if we can use these mediums to stay connected, spread optimism and encourage social responsibility,” Parikh elaborated.