WORKPLACE CHATTER...CHILD AND YOUTH CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

INDISCREET..."Having or showing too great a readiness to reveal things that should be private or secret".

 Walls have ears

In the end, the indiscreet chatter experience was painful, to say the least. It was a camp. We were each responsible for a group to talk about the night time beach experience of making and lighting candles on the shoreline. I was given a group of adolescent girls. For the life of me, I don't know how I got there. In an idle of guard moment, I asked one of the group, " Why is your brother rubbing his child care worker (Name), up the wrong way?" ( OR WORSE in physical bodily terms). 

Well, as you can imagine, it soon got back to the child and youth care worker and to the whole camp. Breakfast next morning, the child and youth care worker told the whole camp, publicly, that she was instituting disciplinary action against me. Based on loyalty, the camp split. Which meant that the Home split. Those for me said "Fire her !". Those for her said  "Fire him !"   

The charge was "Making personal critical insinuations to the young people about her professional practice and breach of confidentiality.

The child care worker let it run for a few days. Then at camp breakfast, as publicly as before, withdrew the threat of charges. This somehow strengthened loyalty groups, which on return from camp, didn't go away.

For me, this was an important lesson in guarding what I said in the workplace in any situation. In that instance, what I said, was said and I couldn't take it back. It was out there.

 Workplace chatter has serious implications in the... who? says to whom? where? and what?.

Let's talk about the who?

Casual talk with colleagues.

Social media issues advice and then a warning. "Keep workplace talk to work. Those you think of as friends "snitch"and then you can get fired". It would seem that colleagues in the workplace who become "friends"  need to have talk boundaries different from personal friends in the  community. I think that the social media comment has some truth in it. Experience shows that indiscreet, no boundary sharing in the workplace can hold employment risks. The sharing, in the workplace of things like relationships ( in and out of marriage), tavern life, drinking episodes... in workplace chatter , all too intimate and risky. All too often, I heard of staff fall outs and management gets an earful. "Do you know that she........Do you know he........ Oops !    Management stereotyping personal belief systems and prejudices can click in

Telephone talk.

There are among us at work, colleagues, some whose lives are hectic, some chaotic,and some deeply romantic. One of the colleagues I remember fell into the hectic, chaotic category. She found it therapeutic to constantly share all her problems with all her outside friends on the phone.Passing colleagues picked up enough to put things together. Then came malicious, harmful gossip. Personal life was getting in the way of effective practice....There's a workplace chatter lesson to be learnt here. 

The there is village gossip spread into the workplace.

We were interviewing for staff.The policy was that we employ 12 learners on stipend and invite 12 to be volunteers with an understanding  that  they are the first to be employed if there occur any vacancies. I said "Employ !'. Management said "Volunteer !". "Why"? "I have heard that she was seen dancing at a tavern in the village". Out of interview, the applicant said, "I was young, we all did that". 

Management.

Don't be influenced by hearsay and gossip. Staff talk to management can be loose talk. When talk with management becomes a moment of idle chatter, it's often what  management is wanting....the off guard moments. "You know, I heard she was struggling with assessments for the Certificate, so she went to two  learners in another project and offered them R300 ZAR each to to do them for her.
.. and they did. It's  difficult to believe Hey! She seems like such an honest person." Danger !!!. 

Advice to child and youth care workers.

Keep workplace talk to workplace talk. Guard the more personal stuff loose chatter and intimacy. Keep it for others. 

Advice to Management.

Avoid chatter, loose talk and gossip. It's only  when formal complaint is lodged that one can take allegations seriously. Otherwise, investigate the chatter. all for the chatterer to tell the story at an investigative consultative interview with both parties present.

INDISCREET " Having or showing too great a readiness to reveal things that should be private or secret." 
Dr Google.