Should people talk about their personal lives at work?

quichebradford

People talk. There are times when I’m at work, especially on Mondays, where we’ll just sit for a few minutes and catch up on what has happened in our lives. You hear conversations at the coffee bar, in the breakroom, hallway, etc. We’re with the people we work with 8 hours a day for 5 days (or whatever your schedule may be) ; naturally, you’re going to talk them. But, how much talk is too much? Do you think it’s a good idea to tell your co-workers, personal and/or private things that are going on in your life? Why or why not?

neenaj33

I dont...Im there to do 8 hours and go home.

cnsmith2

It depends on the relationship you have with particular people at work. I work with a variety of people. There is one person I work with who I would tell just about anything to, and most people here I wouldn't give more than a hello. Most people fall in between. I'm generally not a super private person though.

sleepytexan

to a certain extent sure. I would talk about my weekend bike ride or where I went out to eat, if I went to some fun event, etc.

That builds camaraderie and lets people get to know you.

Don't bring up the marital strife and or bedroom antics though.

Monica_has_a_goal

I pick and choose who to tell personal things to. Not everyone is trustworthy with a secret and unless you want to be gossiped about you should always be careful.

macpatti

It probably depends on where you work. Where I work, we're all a family, so it's okay. Where you work....I would have only shared personal information with people I considered close friends.

bry_all01

I knew this was you! lol, but to answer your question, there are VERY few people I tell certain things to. I do not wish to divulge all of my personal life to others, but there are a few co-workers I consider friends. Anyone else gets a "good morning, how was yur weekend?" and I mov along. I try not to talk to others too much, juts mind my own business and get my work done (or at least appear to be working). I don't think everyone at work needs to know everytihng.

xAdrianax

If you are the type of person to regret telling people too much then i wouldnt start at all....
Depends how personal - if you need to get something of your chest and have someone to listen for just that moment in time i would only tell a close close friend and it may be that i work with them or not
I always talk to people at work as i have met some of my best friends there who i see outside of there so its an added bonus

JoyfulSparkle

When you spend so much time together, a trust, and friendship develops. But, timing, talking about it at the office, on work time, is actually interfering with productivity. But, lunchtime, breaks, that's fine.

My1985Freckles

I do because I see these people the most LOL. I get together with friends, but not every weekend or anything. And sometimes my IL's do stuff that is so unbelievable I must share! LOL

Tonnina

To an extent. When I used to work I'd make one or two real close friends at work and chat up a storm with them about any and everything... They were my friends outside of the work place too so it's a little different. The chatting I'd do with the people who weren't my friends outside of the work place was a lot less personal, but still friendly and fun. I to think certain topics are off limits at the work place though. No bedroom talk, no potty mouths, and NO talk of how much you hate your boss... It's just not okay to talk about certain things in a work environment!!

emilydmac

I think talking about personal lives at work is fine, as long as it is kept light and kind- of course there are exceptions such as illness or death when sometimes colleagues really should just know because it is affecting you significantly. But being nice, light and sharing a nice, funny story about your kids or husband is completely appropriate. Talking about overly personal or private things isn't always appropriate, and things do get around- it isn't really appropriate to share the fact that maybe your husband is having an affair or your kid is pregnant at 15 or that you have daddy issues or something like that- work is for working, if it were for sharing deeply personal things it would be called therapy.

ladybg81

I am in the middle. I do not come to work to make friends, I want to just do my job and go home. But there is always 1 or 2 people I will have a lot in common with that will become my friends. Those people I will talk about my live with. Other than that, it is niceties.

chrissaucier

I only talk about kid activities and things that keep us busy. Never talk about marital stuff.

mazza2marilyn

i'm retired now but when i did work there were two really good friends i knew i called talk to about anything.
i knew they would not discuss my business with other people.
i would not discuss my business with anyone else at work, unless i wanted it to go round the office.

Qarol

My coworkers don't even know my birthday.

Hodar

This has a variety of answers - but HR has a huge influence on this.

If your HR has a policy where you are competing against your peers for your very job - anything you say can, and will be used against you by your co-workers; to hurt your review and futher their careers. Been there, was on the receiving end, got the T-shirt.

If you have a company where HR is in place to encourage company growth, help your grow professionally and you are judged on your merits - then sharing personal information helps build your team.

Company policies can kill morale and make work a miserable place to be, far more harsh than any group of backstabbing gossip-monders would ever hope to be able to accomplish.

Hodar

My coworkers don't even know my birthday.

Had a job with a company where I didn't even announce that I was getting married - just showed up after a week's vacation with a wedding ring - never said a thing. Miserable people, miserable job, miserable place to work.

Kirsty_UK

My coworkers don't even know my birthday.

wish mine didn't - we're expected to bring cakes in on our birthdays!

Amayrial

for me, it depends on the people I work with, and what exactly I'm sharing. trials and tributes with my kids.. absolutely. we all talk about our kids.

Personal matters with my soon to be ex spouse? not so much. a good deal of my coworkers are my sole support system. I know about them and they know about me. - to a certain extent. I think i'd shock the heck out of them if they really knew me.

d2footballJRC

Depends, I have several where I work that are friends and we are friends outside of work. I don't know mind sharing personal things with them. Just random people not so much, but when you work with people sometimes they become friends as well.

scyian

I'll tend to say hi and how's your weekend/evening and get on with my work. Then maybe chat at lunch or during a tea break. Else I'm pretty private. However I'm in an open office and I still have to listen to everyone else talking about their private lives throughout most of the working day. It's so distracting and management don't seem to care when I complain about it. There's one of the women who works there just calls up her husband and children and spends ages moaning and arguing with them in a loud Jack Bauer whisper. It makes me feel really embarrassed to hear it. :S

CountryDevil

At my previous job, yes I would but it depended on the person and how close I was to them. At my current job, which I have been at lees than a year, everyone is kind of up tight and don't really fit in with my sense of humor or lifestyle. So I just stay to myself, do my 8 hours and get out. I do say "hi" and be friendly, but that is about it.

ninerbuff

Nope. That's how gossip starts and how people judge others.

kapeluza

I speak about my husband/daughter and really superficial activities (like what movie we watched or what we did this weekend), that is all. I don't like my personal life to get involved with work. There is so much you can share until it can get a little awkward and maybe even turn into gossip.

TheRoadDog

Should people be on MFP at work?

fbmandy55

I working in a building with ONE other person, my boss. We would probably go crazy if we didn't talk about our personal lives.

boomboom011

idk if they should or should not. however i think if you do, then you should be very selective about who you share certain info with.

P.S. there are actual co-workers that will not stab you in the back. but there are always those special ones that do.

Fochizzy

My coworkers don't even know my birthday.

lol, my birthday was last week, no one at work knew

audram420

I work with a bunch of people that tell it all...over the years I've become like that at work...amoung those that don't seem to mind hearing it. I don't do it with stranger or new co-workers, but there's a group of us that just can't seem to keep it to ourselves..haha!

CrimsonHellkite

well the real question is do you trust the people youre talking to? at my job we all talk about everything, honestly if you have the kinda job i do you(sadly enough) spend more time with them than you do with your family so it kinda keeps us all connected and if something were to happen to me at work someone at work can know who to contact or what to do and i know they would take care of my fam as if they were their own...