Work Life Balance; Professional Personal Life Office Boundaries ​​​​​​​ | Relationship – Are you sharing private things in the office: Boundary between personal and professional is necessary, do not talk about these 10 things in the office

Do you share your personal things in the office? Do the people in the office know what is going on in your home and in your personal life? Are your office colleagues also your friends on social media and follow your every activity?

If this is the case then this article is only for you.

You will be surprised to know that we spend almost a third of our lives in the office. If we exclude 8 hours of sleep and the time of daily work, then almost half of the active life of a working person is spent in the office. Half of the life means a big and important part of our existence. During this time, we mix so much in the office environment that we start considering that place and some of the people there as our own. Then, trusting them, we tell them many such things which should not be told.

So can we treat the office like home? Can we share personal things with colleagues? If we can, what is the limit? And if not, why? Today ‘Workplace relationships’ I will try to find answers to these questions.

Why is it important to keep your personal life private in the office?

Keeping your personal life private helps you project a professional image. It also enables you to develop and maintain good work relationships with your co-workers.

We should not share personal matters of our life with our colleagues in the office because it may affect our work.

Famous author Mary Frances Winters has written a book on this subject – ‘We can’t talk about that at work.’ In this book, she has explained what things related to personal life should not be shared at the workplace and why.

For example, sharing views related to religion, politics and caste in the office can lead to differences. This can also have a negative impact on teamwork and work. He also explained how to talk about sensitive topics and how to bring people together instead of separating them on these topics.

See the graphic below to know which things should be kept private in the office-

Personal Relationship- You should not share all the things related to your personal relationship with any colleague in the office, no matter how good a friend he is. This is because sometimes your words can be leaked to someone else. Also, some people can form an opinion about you.

Health related problems- It is not a bad thing to tell someone else about health problems. If there is a big problem, then you should tell about it to a friend in the office so that they can help you in an emergency. But small details related to health should not be shared with anyone. By doing this you can avoid unnecessary questions. Also, people will not judge you on every small thing.

Family problem- It is not necessary that your friends in the office are your well-wishers. Often we want to share our problems at home with someone. This lightens the mind and gives you courage. But it is not necessary that the other person is taking it in the same spirit in which you are sharing it. Some people can take advantage of this.

Financial details- We all know that we should not share financial details with anyone. We should keep this in mind in the office as well. You should never share your salary, loan, investment or money related problems. If you do this, it creates an environment of comparison and a feeling of jealousy can also develop among people. There can also be estrangement between you and your colleagues.

Career plan and goals- When we make good friends in the office, we share everything with them. Even about our career plans. We even tell them what we are going to do next. But we should avoid doing this because it can create a sense of competition among colleagues.

Political and religious sentiments- We should not express our religious sentiments to anyone because these are your personal opinions. So do not share them with anyone even by mistake. Also, keep your political views to yourself because it is not necessary that the other person’s views are the same as yours. If you share these things with anyone, there can be differences of opinion. This can also lead to a debate.

Benefits of not sharing personal things in office

Keeping your personal life private can help you build a professional image. You can also build good relationships with your colleagues. By setting some limits and keeping control over yourself, you can keep your work and home worlds separate. This will keep both your lives balanced.