It’s hard to resist a good gossip session at the office. Just don’t confuse gossip with venting, says leadership expert and bestselling author Simon Sinek.

“Getting on the phone with a colleague and venting about your boss is not necessarily unhealthy and it’s not necessarily gossip,” Sinek told psychotherapist Sara Kuburic in a video post on LinkedIn last month. “Allowing venting is healthy, but validating venting can make it gossip. Now you’re part of the problem.”

In the video, Kuburic defined venting as “self-focused” and gossiping as “other-focused.” Sharing your frustrations about a stressful project is, for example, venting, while criticizing a colleague’s skills or work ethic behind their back is gossip.

DON’T MISS: The ultimate guide to negotiating a higher salary

Be very careful with anything that qualifies as gossip, Sinek said: If your comments ever reach their subjects, you’ll create drama for yourself — probably eroding your professional reputationalong with other more interpersonal problems.

Venting, on the other hand, can strengthen your relationships, Sinek said: It can help you feel heard at work and build bonds with your coworkers.

Some workplace experts recommend “good gossip”

Not all workplace experts say gossip is completely bad.

There is such a thing as “good gossip”, according to Elena Martinescu, who researches workplace gossip at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Any conversation about someone who isn’t present falls under the umbrella term, including discussions about how much you like another colleague or something you find interesting about a member of your team, Martinescu told CNBC Make It in 2022.

Echoing Sinek, Martinescu noted that you should only gossip with colleagues you trust, otherwise you risk your private conversation becoming public.

Good gossip can help build friendships at work, and talking honestly about topics like salaries or layoffs with your coworkers could benefit your career, added Kelsey McKinney, host of Defector Media’s “Normal Gossip” podcast.

“Gossip is ultimately a tool of people outside of management,” McKinney said. “People who are not responsible to be able to talk to each other to form alliances, whether it’s union-based or just sharing your salary with each other, is a very powerful form of gossip that can get you things you deserve and you get your information that allows you to negotiate those things better.”

Everyone needs a work buddy

There is a link between Sinek, Martinescu and McKinney’s perspectives: Everyone needs someone to talk to at work. Friendships at work can lead to growth happiness, productivity and satisfaction.

Be careful about complaining too much to your friends, though. Venting for the sake of venting can make you look less competent and more annoying, University of Georgia management researchers finder in March.

“It feels self-absorbed,” sociologist and relationship expert Jennifer Gunsaullus said Make It in June. “They put up a wall like, ‘You wouldn’t understand.’ He’s not someone who feels likable or warm, someone we want to spend more time with.”

Want to make more money at work? Follow CNBC’s new online course How to negotiate a higher salary. Expert instructors will teach you the skills you need to earn a higher salary, including how to prepare and build confidence, what to do and say, and how to craft a counteroffer. Get started today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an initial 50% off until November 26, 2024.

Addition, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks to be successful at work, with money and in life.