Not that he intends to give you any credit for doing his work. Another ploy might be to tell you how overburdened he is and, gee, wouldn't it be great if someone would help him finish this project so he could leave the office by 7 p.m. for a change. If I get any free time, I'll let you know. Actually, I could use a favor myself. The manipulator, whose goal is to get something for nothing, will probably steer clear of you in the future.
Gossips derive a sense of power and satisfaction from being the source of information.
And they have no qualms about spreading pri- vate or unpleasant news. Since office gossips are as likely to create rumors as spread them, much of what they say is frequently inaccurate. You can discourage this kind of verbal garbage by tactfully re- fusing to listen to it or contribute to it. If the gossip asks you a personal question, you might veer away from it by politely chang- ing the subject. By stopping the gossip before he or she can get started, you'll get across the message that you're not interested.