You have probably made friends at the office, and you guys talk about everything. You want to become friends, and the best way to do that is to get to know each other. But what are some things that you should never say to a co-worker?
This advice comes from Liz Ryan, a contributor to Forbes for career advice. Here are the ten things she says you should never, ever tell to your co-workers.
You can access her article here.
1. That You Hate Your Job
If you tell your co-workers that you hate your job, it will only bring in a bunch of negativity that they don’t need. The world is negative enough. Some of your co-workers may really love their jobs and could be upset that you think the job sucks. It’s their life, and they probably don’t want to hear you talk bad about it.
2. Don’t Tell Your Co-Workers That You Dislike Your Manager
If you talk bad about your manager to a coworker it could spread around and because you are the source, you could get in trouble. It’s not very likely that your friend would tell the manager that you dislike them, but if word spreads and someone is trying to get an advantage on you, they will use what you said as leverage against you.
3. Don’t Tell Anyone You are Job Hunting
Again, if you talk about your job hunt and how it is going, then that could create some chaos in the office. Liz says that “you can tell your coworkers when you accept a new position. Until then, say nothing.”
4. Don’t Tell Coworkers About Your Financial Situation
Telling coworkers about how well or how poor you are doing is not going to go well. If you are doing well, then some coworkers may get jealous and think they deserve a raise or think that you are making more money than them. If you are struggling at the moment then its likely that people will talk about it around the office. You don’t want to people gossiping about your financial situation or what steps you are taking to become debt free.
5. Don’t Tell Your Coworkers That You Are Better Than Your Job
If you believe that you are working a job that is not challenging you enough or that is too easy for you try to not talk about it. You may hurt a coworkers feelings because they will assume that you are better than them and other people around the office may talk badly about you. They may not think you are better than that job because of jealousy or resentment and try to drag you down. Don’t give them the opportunity to do that. If you really feel that you could get a better, more challenging job, then try your best and don’t let anyone hurt the dreams you are trying to full fill for yourself.
6. Don’t Talk About Career Plans if They Mean Leaving That Job
Talking about your future plans that don’t involve the company could make your manager feel like you are not doing your best. It could incline them to feel like you are slacking off or that you don’t care about the job you have even though you do because those plans are just future plans.
7. If You are Dating a Coworker, Keep it Hush
If the relationship builds to the point that it’s serious and pretty stable, then it’s okay to tell your coworkers. Make sure that you also let your manager know who you are dating and that it is serious. If your company has a no dating policy, then you should adhere to the policy, so you don’t lose your job.
8. Don’t Tell Your Coworkers That Headhunters Call You Frequently
If you are in doing well in your career and getting job offers from other companies, then don’t tell your coworkers. Liz says that “It’s no one’s business but yours, and if your teammates aren’t getting calls from recruiters they might get jealous. That would not be good for your team’s mojo!”
9. Don’t Talk About Breaking the Rules
If you are breaking company rules, don’t talk about it to your coworkers. This could come back to bite you in the butt when its time for a raise or a promotion. You don’t want that, and your coworkers don’t need to know. The example used in the article is “taking a sick day when you are not really sick” so if you are doing things like this then don’t talk about it. If you feel that you are breaking a lot of company rules because you are unhappy, then it may be time for a new job. But remember to keep the job hunt to yourself.
10. Don’t Talk About Your Plan to Transfer to Another Department
What Liz said here is perfect, so I am just going to quote her.
“Keep quiet about your plans to transfer to another department. Somebody in your work group will have a bad day before long and that’s when they will tell your manager ‘Guess who wants to leave your department, and hasn’t told you?'”
The overall goal of not talking about these things is to try and ensure that you have a happy and healthy work environment. People sabotage themselves at work all the time and its best to not do that. Especially if you are applying for other jobs. Its good to not bash or talk negatively about the company you worked for because then the hiring manager will thing that you would do the same to that company.
One last piece of advice that she shares is that it depends on the company you work for.
“The healthier your environment, the less you have to worry about a stray comment making its way to the wrong person’s ears and causing you strife.
The worse the environment, the more tight-lipped you have to be with your coworkers.
If things get so bad at your workplace that you can’t safely talk about much beyond the weather, that’s a sure sign it’s time to go!”
I hope that you enjoyed this article and let us know what you think in the comments!