Should you eavesdrop your way to the top?
AlamyIn noisy, open-plan offices, overheard conversations are part of working life. But there’s a difference between overhearing and eavesdropping, writes Alina Dizik.
Varun Mathure’s desk at work is near the kitchen, so the London-based marketing executive finds himself privy to all manner of discussions going on in there.
But, his colleagues are likely unaware. You can’t blame them. With his headphones in — but not always playing music — Mathure looks at his computer screen without giving any hint that he may be paying attention. But he is. At other times, it’s impossible for him not to overhear conversations if they’re held at a loud volume. It can be distracting, especially when he’s on deadline for a project. But there are also benefits to overhearing certain conversations, he says.
Rather than disregarding the trickle of watercooler talk as irrelevant gossip, he says the information helps him build rapport with colleagues in unexpected ways. Mathure takes mental notes on the most light-hearted conversation topics and brings them up casually at the next appropriate social interaction.
Getty ImagesChatting about someone’s movie preferences, upcoming trips and weekend plans can all help to create a more familiar relationship when it comes to working together, he says. “It helps you connect.” But he knows where to draw the line and there is one thing he avoids admitting to overhearing: anything too personal.
Mathure is not alone in taking advantage of the things he overhears at the office. We’ve all been there.
Heard it through the grapevine
Open-plan workspaces mean it’s now easier than ever to stumble across a conversation that would have otherwise been held behind closed doors. But reaping the benefits of any juicy tidbits you overhear can be tricky. Simply overhearing something or making sure you’re in a position to listen in can — at times — help you get ahead by forming bonds with colleagues, get a better reading of a manager’s perspective, or decipher the real intent behind a company announcement. But if done manipulatively it can harm your career and make you seem untrustworthy.
So what’s the secret to harnessing the things you overhear at work to give you an edge? How and when you use the information, says Andrew Challenger, a Chicago-based vice president of an outplacement and executive coaching firm.
Alamy“Eavesdropping is prone to be partial and incomplete,” says Challenger. But on the other hand, “you get to see how people interact with each other and interact with customers, and that’s part of the way to learn about specific [office] culture.”
Overhearing or eavesdropping?
It’s crucial to differentiate between eavesdropping, which can impact your reputation, and taking the time to tune into the kind of conversations that can help you get ahead. Eavesdropping suggests employees who intentionally go out of their way to uncover information that’s not meant for them. Overhearing, on the other hand, is the non-malicious consequence of the growing open office trend. “If you happen to overhear — that’s different,” says Mathure.
At a psychological level, overhearing is an unintended reflex and mimics the so-called “cocktail party effect,” when you’re automatically distracted by the conversations going on around you in addition to the person you’re actually chatting with (or the task at hand), says Lauren Emberson, psychology professor at Princeton University.
Eavesdropping, on the other hand, means you’ve intentionally moved your attention to something other than what’s in front of you and can be perceived as malicious if caught, she says. “People try not to pay attention [when hearing nearby colleagues] but basically you have to,” she says. “Your brain is constantly monitoring the environment for things predictable and not predictable — when something surprising happens, your brain automatically moves towards it.”
Getty ImagesAudible osmosis
The open office set up has blurred the line between public and private conversations, says Joshua Juneau, a real estate agent at New York property start-up TripleMint.
After complaining to a nearby colleague about how a buyer pulled out of a purchase for one of his real estate listings, a co-worker across the room piped in by saying he had a perfect buyer for the home. The result is an office where most employees keep their ears peeled for news. (For truly private matters, Juno uses instant messaging programs rather than whispering to his colleague, he adds.) “Especially in real estate, it’s never really eavesdropping,” he says. “We all learn through osmosis.”
Not all eavesdropping is necessarily bad. Proponents, including Morgan Friedman, cofounder of blog Overheard in New York, say purposely listening in is part of a larger trend — Friedman says most people expect that they are being listened to in today’s open offices and there’s crucial information that can be obtained through this kind of audible osmosis. If you’re on the receiving end, then being listened to at the office can help you subtly build your personal brand as others listen pay attention to what you’re saying and learn more about you. “We’re moving towards a culture where everyone is purposely sharing everything and other people are listening,” he says. “If you start with that assumption that everything you say will be overheard by everyone,” then speaking up will be easier.
Listen sparingly
From a career perspective, getting caught eavesdropping or even bringing up something you’ve heard in passing can be detrimental, says Challenger, who warns employees to think ahead prior to using the strategy to advance their careers. “You don’t want to go around telling people you are listening to their conversations,” he says. “It’s important to have your co-workers feel like they can trust you.”
And even on a personal level, shifting your attention to focus on other conversations can create small distractions, forcing employees to constantly move between the task in front of them and the task of listening to others in the office, Emberson finds in her research. The result means you’re slowed down completing what’s typically in front of your screen, she adds. “As soon as you split your attention, you are worse off,” she says.
For those trying to master the art of light-hearted eavesdropping, less is more, says Hillary Anger Elfenbein, a professor of organisational behaviour at the University of Washington University in St. Louis in the US. While it’s beneficial to get an overall sense about what co-workers are thinking through unfettered conversations, based on her research, employees can feel paralysed to learn damaging information that they can’t put into action, she says. “Knowing info you can’t do anything with makes you upset and makes you paranoid,” she says. “If you can’t put that to use, it’s damaging to overhear.”
