5 Taboo Topics You Should Never Bring Up at Work
It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking to be a better boss or navigate internship dos and don’ts: There are just some topics you should *definitely* avoid chatting about at the water cooler. But now that many millennials are taking on part-time freelance work and turning side hustles into main gigs, it’s just so darn easy to blend our work life with our personal life. (We work with our BFFs, after all!) So to give our fellow #girlbosses a little office professionalism refresher, we thought we would review five controversial topics that you should probably wait to discuss until after you leave work for the day.
1. Any Negative Feelings About Your Boss, Coworkers, or Company: While critical feedback is good, there’s a time and a place to give your advice on how your company can do better (AKA your semi-annual performance review). We know it’s hard to avoid juicy office gossip, but do your best to stay out of it — and, if possible, avoid airing your frustrations with your cubicle mates while you’re still on company property.
2. Your Sex Life: We’re all for empowering women to love and own their bodies, but the morning meeting isn’t really the time to be discussing all the dirty deets of your bedroom life. Not only could you be making others uncomfortable, but sexy stories open the door to sexual harassment claims. Save the romantic recounting for after-work drinks with your besties, ladies.
3. Medical Conditions That Aren’t Relevant to Job Performance: There are certain medical conditions that you should definitely feel safe discussing with your boss, including allergies to things you might encounter on the job, cold and flu symptoms, or any diagnosis that could cause you to miss work. But while talking with your boss about a potential sick day is okay, you may want to refrain from going into elaborate detail about your current medication or medical testing with your coworkers.
4. That You’re Interviewing for Another Job: Even if you’re thinking about ditching your nine-to-five for that awesome startup, it’s probably best not to go blabbing about it in your current workplace. Besides the fact that your new job offer might never arrive (or fall through), you don’t want to rub anyone the wrong way by giving the impression that you’re already over your current gig when you still have to work together.
5. Your Detailed Political Views: We get it: Keeping the conversation off the government in such a heated political climate is tough. But when even scientists agree that the politics is stressing people out, it might be wise to save your comments on the daily news until you leave the office. You never really know the political views of the people around you — and whether you agree with them or not, you’ll likely be sitting next to them for months or years to come.
Can you think of any more topics that shouldn’t be discussed in the office? Tweet us by mentioning @BritandCo.
(Featured photo via Getty)