Gossip on the job feels like bonding and acts like sabotage. Stay out of the break-room drama.

Talking about people behind their backs produces a quick feeling of closeness and a slow loss of trust. Everyone in the conversation learns something true about you rather than the person discussed: that you are willing to do this, and they adjust accordingly. The bonding is real and temporary. The reputation it builds is real and not.

When the break room turns to somebody who is not there, stay quiet or change the subject rather than joining in. If you have a genuine problem with someone, say it to them in plain words. Watch who starts telling you things once you are known for not passing them on.