At work I try to get on well with my colleagues, and even if I don't really like them I try to keep things pleasant because it's the grown up thing to do. But recently two couples there have had a big falling out and I'm kind of stuck in the middle.
For some background: couple 1 work in my department and we're quite friendly. The wife of couple 2 is a receptionist and her husband does volunteer work. I see them much less but they are good people and I enjoy chatting to them. I'm not entirely sure what the conflict is about because they each have different versions, but I'm certain that couple 1 are almost entirely to blame.
My problem is that the women in both couples talk to me often, and recently all they want to talk about is how much the other couple has acted badly. I know if I say "I'd rather not talk about it" or some variation, they will think I'm siding with the other couple. My strategy so far has been to listen sympathetically to both, nod along and make non-committal sounds. But I'm really worried that one of them will say to the other "well Lord Snot agrees with me!" due to my nodding, and they will both think I've been saying bad things about them to the other - which I haven't. For the same reason I don't want to start avoiding either of them, they will take it as a sign that I'm not happy with them.
What would you do in this situation? It's difficult to just change the subject because couple 1 are really angry and couple 2 are really hurt and they are focusing on this quite a lot. Naturally they want to talk about it.
For some background: couple 1 work in my department and we're quite friendly. The wife of couple 2 is a receptionist and her husband does volunteer work. I see them much less but they are good people and I enjoy chatting to them. I'm not entirely sure what the conflict is about because they each have different versions, but I'm certain that couple 1 are almost entirely to blame.
My problem is that the women in both couples talk to me often, and recently all they want to talk about is how much the other couple has acted badly. I know if I say "I'd rather not talk about it" or some variation, they will think I'm siding with the other couple. My strategy so far has been to listen sympathetically to both, nod along and make non-committal sounds. But I'm really worried that one of them will say to the other "well Lord Snot agrees with me!" due to my nodding, and they will both think I've been saying bad things about them to the other - which I haven't. For the same reason I don't want to start avoiding either of them, they will take it as a sign that I'm not happy with them.
What would you do in this situation? It's difficult to just change the subject because couple 1 are really angry and couple 2 are really hurt and they are focusing on this quite a lot. Naturally they want to talk about it.