I’m doing an internship with three other friends, but two of them are bad-mouthing the other one. Should I say something?

The less said the better, thinks our elder.

Dear EWC

I am currently having my internship in a firm with four other college mates. College mate A and B are a couple, and they like to bad-mouth college mate C behind his back. It goes on to the extent that they like to talk about college mate C with me and I usually never give a response. I’ll just smile and not reply with a single word. It’s only because I know it is not right. Despite several attempts by me asking them to just let college mate C be as he is, they still enjoy mocking him. It’s ridiculous. I do not know what I should do. I want to lecture them. But who am I to teach them how they should act? What if in turn, they will come to bad-mouth me instead? My way of dealing with this is to continue to show no interest in their conversation until my internship is over. Do you think this is the right thing I should be doing?

Lawry replies

I would be happy to answer your letter. You ask a very good question.
It is unfortunate that your two college mates like to bad-mouth another college mate of yours. I absolutely agree that the best thing to do is “to continue to show no interest in their conversation.” I wouldn’t grovel to their level. The less said the better. And, as you said, what’s to say that they wouldn’t turn on you and start talking about you that way, too, if you were complaining about their behavior. I know it is an uncomfortable feeling, but I would ignore this pair and carry on with your life.
I hope your internship itself if going well. I know I learned a lot during the ones I experienced. Hands-on work is a wonderful way to learn and from experts.
If you have difficulty keeping a positive frame of mind, I would suggest keeping a gratitude journal. I have been doing it for a while and I find it very helpful. Every night before you got to sleep write down three things you are grateful for that day. It makes it easy to fall asleep thinking of positive things in your life. It can be as simple as a good meal, a friendly hello from someone, etc.
I hope that this has been helpful to you, and I wish you a great deal of luck as you continue with your internship and your life. Think positive. I am a great believer in that.
I would love to hear how things work out for you. I’ll be thinking of you.

Letter #: 437220
Category: Career