Pull on the plastic gloves and grab an ice cream scoop

It is time to dish. Or, more to the point to talk about dishing, namely at work. I have never quite mastered the fine art, the balancing act, of gossiping at work. Now before you shout out that gossip at work is a bad idea and is to be avoided, especially for those who do not have the skill, I agree with you. I would like nothing better then to be without it. When your boss and department run on it, however, it gets trickier. When you don't get involved, it seems that not only can you get a reputation for being aloof or stuck-up, but frequently the water-cooler chatter seems to be punctuated with real work information that is never mentioned in any other email or staff meeting. So there is the predicament. Is there some merit to getting professional development in the fine art of work socialization? If so, where do you start, where do you go for that kind of skill development? Tricky.