Topics to Avoid at Work

Have you ever been around a person who feels like he or she needs to tell you everything about themselves? Someone who reveals way too much personal information, can make others feel uncomfortable. We all have many sides to our lives and our personalities, and some people are more open about their personal lives than others.  Sharing those things with family members, close friends, or a therapist, can be more than appropriate.  However, revealing some of those things at work can do a lot of damage.

 Avoid Sharing These Details at Work

Politics – You’re almost always better off checking your political views at the door. Politics play such a big part of peoples’ lives and sharing your beliefs could end up damaging work relationships with others who don’t feel the same way.  Politics usually have little or nothing to do with the work at hand, and extra tension between co-workers simply makes working together harder.  Keep your political views to yourself in the workplace.

Negative feelings towards co-workers – No matter where you work, you will always have coworkers who just don’t cut it; it’s inevitable. However, no matter how incompetent someone is, unless it is in your job description to report your co-workers’ capabilities, you should keep opinions concerning others’ shortcomings private.  Talking about your co-workers to others will only cause negative feelings towards you, from those you are talking about, and likely also those you are talking to.

Discontent with your job – If you hate your job, know that you are not alone, and go about it with a cheerful attitude anyway.  Many people dislike their job and may empathize with you, but most people don’t like listening to complainers. The power of positivity makes anything easier and more enjoyable.  So don’t bring down company morale by telling everyone how much you hate your job. Spend your energy on looking for a more agreeable job, instead.  However, you shouldn’t reveal that you’re looking for another job either, as this could get you fired very quickly.

Your wild past – People like to brag about how wild they used to be and all the crazy things they used to do. Perhaps that’s ok for a night out on the town, but ultimately, it will lead coworkers to doubt you and your ability to be responsible and make good choices. In addition, posting pictures of these antics on social media is a big mistake, as many companies search online to gather more information about their prospective employees in an effort to help them weigh their decision in the hiring process.

Problems at Home – When you walk in your workplace door, leave your bad mood, family squabbles, and any negative attitudes. Having a positive attitude and upbeat mood makes the workplace better and more energized for you and everyone else.  No one wants their own happy vibe to be dragged down by someone else’s relationship problems or last night’s bout of insomnia.  So when you get to work, put a smile on your face; you will automatically feel better and your co-workers will too.

Whenever in doubt about what is appropriate in the workplace to share or do about a co-worker who is either causing you to feel uncomfortable, or is just not cutting it, contact your HR specialist as soon as possible for information about what exactly you can, and cannot say.

We hope you found this article about What Topics to Avoid in the Workplace helpful.  If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page  or our website at www.GROCO.com.  Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.

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