Find the font of all office knowledge

When you want to find out the company’s expansion plans, get the lowdown on why an ex-employee really left, or discover who in the office might be more than colleagues, who do you go to for the juicy details? A survey has revealed that those looking for confidential information on colleagues will often turn to a knowledgeable PA. Meanwhile, employees seeking to discover corporate secrets are most likely to chat to the CEO.

The new research from information management firm Iron Mountain shows that one third of UK office workers (36%) regularly shares confidential company information with colleagues and more than a quarter are passing on secrets about other staff.

Personal assistants apparently come a close third when it comes to sharing details of colleagues’ private lives. Topping the office list of indiscretion are personnel in human resources and marketing, with 64% of those in HR and half (50%) of those in marketing admitting to having shared confidential information about the company, while 44% and 36% respectively pass on private information about their co-workers. Senior staff and those in the finance and IT departments are also prone to divulging private information.

For intimate information on colleagues, PAs (12%) and HR (18%) are seen as important sources. But most employees looking to learn something confidential about the business say they would first turn to a director (38%).

However, when it comes to discovering secrets rather than sharing them, the study reveals a significant mismatch between the people who we think will talk and the people who are in fact most likely to reveal all.

So if you do see a co-worker approaching with a glint in their eye, you may want to smile politely and tell them to go elsewhere for their gossip.