In the professional world, your words are just as big on the resume as your skills. Just as some of our relatives secretly envy your success, the workplace has all sorts of colleagues who might find it hard to watch you succeed.
When giving or receiving work-related input from the office and being "all eyes and ears," it is essential every time your words go across, wrong comment becomes dangerous for your reputation later on and you will jeopardize everything that comes after your eyes. So here are nine things that you absolutely shouldn’t, not sharing with your colleagues in order to maintain work-life balance and safeguard your career path.
1. Salary and Income Streams
Talking about your paycheck is a disaster. Open sharing of pay between peers is so often filled with deep-rooted jealousy, a lot of resentment to salary discrepancies in particular. Keep your financial information between you and HR to avoid building a toxic competitive culture.
2. Deeply Personal Problems
And while a minor life update is ok, sharing significant personal issues gives people a look of vulnerability and distraction. In a competitive environment, you may be so fortunate someone will use your personal pain in a game of competition that someone can use it to challenge your productivity or suitability for promotion.
3. Office Gossip
Engaging in or spreading rumors about a third person is the quickest way to ruin your credibility. Gossip always comes out a bit later, and being called "troublemaker" can put your job out of reach. Stress on work instead of people.
4. Political Opinions
The office is a melting pot of diverse backgrounds. Talking to your favourite politicians; discussing sensitive political subjects tends to lead to intense arguments and irrevocable differences in opinion. You leave the political debates for dinner at home to keep the atmosphere professional.
5. Family Disputes
Family dynamics don’t belong in a boardroom. It can invoke unwanted pity or judgmental stares in discussing domestic conflict. The same way with your family life, keeping it private makes sure your colleagues see you strictly through the scope of your professional achievement.
6. Negative criticism of the Boss
Never complain about your manager to a coworkers. Words travel fast and trust in them. Negative comments about leadership are often viewed as insubordination and can lead to immediate termination or being blacklisted for future opportunities.
7. Financial Struggles
If you are in debt or facing some kind of financial crisis, so be it. Disclosing financial instability can prompt colleagues to make fun of you or management to view you as the person who cannot handle their own affairs, and much less company resources.
8. Love Interest and Positive and Negative Relationships
Every relationship is different, highs and lows, but the office isn’t for a “tell-all” room. Revealing too much about your romantic life can be awkward, and get your name branded with unprofessional labels.
9. Future Career Plans
If you plan to change jobs, attend interviews away from where you are going, or get a higher degree that might pull you away from the company, don't say anything. If the management discovers you’ve got another foot out the door, however, they may stop investing in your growth, or get rid of you sooner than you anticipated.
