Accused of being too opinionated and gossipy at work

I was called into the office today as my manager wanted to talk to me about my conduct. He said he's been fed back some things that i had said about him and he wanted me to keep out of staff discussion in future and not talk badly about anyone. I asked him for examples of what had been said and both examples were fabricated.

I am now very concerned that he has a bad opinion of me as I am a professional and my reputation is important for future job prospects.

I feel it's unfair to judge me based on malicious gossip or out of context comments.

How should I approach this now? Should I suck it up and apologise, ask for all the things said about me and explain them, forget the conversation and just say nothing until my contract ends in a few weeks?

I was on course to get a job from my manager so this gossip has tarnished my reputation and the chance of a job so it's important things are improved.
What's the right thing to do?

If I don't improve his opinion of me it could end badly. But I can't apologise for something I haven't done.

Reply 1

Charlotte's Web

21

Original post by Anonymous

I was called into the office today as my manager wanted to talk to me about my conduct. He said he's been fed back some things that i had said about him and he wanted me to keep out of staff discussion in future and not talk badly about anyone. I asked him for examples of what had been said and both examples were fabricated.

I am now very concerned that he has a bad opinion of me as I am a professional and my reputation is important for future job prospects.

I feel it's unfair to judge me based on malicious gossip or out of context comments.

How should I approach this now? Should I suck it up and apologise, ask for all the things said about me and explain them, forget the conversation and just say nothing until my contract ends in a few weeks?

I was on course to get a job from my manager so this gossip has tarnished my reputation and the chance of a job so it's important things are improved.
What's the right thing to do?

If I don't improve his opinion of me it could end badly. But I can't apologise for something I haven't done.

If you have any idea who is feeding back to him (which you quite possibly do as there tends to be a couple of people who are malicious and gossipy), then consider having a word with them. Realistically, no, you shouldn't apologise for things you haven't done and now it's up to your manager whether he believes them or you. If I was in your position I would probably say that I'm sorry that you've heard these rumours but I can give you my assurance that this isn't something I would say, I value my position as a professional within your company and hope that won't damage our relationship. That's pretty much all you can do, and then the ball is in his court with whether he wants to give you a job.

Reply 2

doodle_333

19

Have a really serious think about whether there is any truth to what's been said - are you opinionated and gossipy? are you following norms within your workplace in terms of sharing opinions? did you say the examples/something similar?

If you're convinced it's all a massive lie you could approach your manager and say you're concerned about the conversation, you've reflected on your behaviour but are sure you haven't said those things and you're worried that your position is being sabotaged. However if you think there is any truth to it, even if it's a little exaggerated, I'd say your best bet is to say that you have taken the feedback on board and then make a concerted effort to stay away from gossiping and not do anything which could be interpreted as the things you've been criticised for and just show some willing.

Accused of being too opinionated and gossipy at work

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