Being well educated, firm in our beliefs, and having the ability to speak out about what we think is right are all positive characteristics of successful, Canadian, young professionals. But while we get to enjoy the freedom and ability to express our opinions publicly, there are certain times and places where such expression is inappropriate. The workplace and work functions are meant to be safe, neutral environments, so it is important to learn when our views regarding politics, parenting, personalities, or partying are best kept to ourselves. Here are a few examples:
When it’s all negative, all the time
The world needs more people who care about the worst issues affecting our planet. The workplace does not. If you spend your weekends volunteering at an animal shelter, feeding the homeless, planting trees, or working with at-risk youth, we applaud you! And we love hearing about the positive work that young professionals are doing in their communities. What is not appropriate, however, is going into work with horror stories of abused puppies, abandoned children, or sick babies. You may be passionate about your cause and want everyone else to jump on board, but the office is not the place for recruitment via tactics of shock and guilt. Spread the word about your cause or concern with (brief) stories of positive experiences, or with information about optimistic progress. Keeping it positive is not only more work-friendly, but will also make for an easier sell.
When it attacks someone’s character
Unless you are someone’s boss, parent, teacher, or very best friend, or unless someone is harming another, you do not have the right to judge and/or comment on their personality, behaviour, or personal preferences. You may feel very strongly in your position regarding the way someone acts, what they do, or how they think, but in order to keep the peace (and perhaps your job) it’s best to zip it. To ease the frustration many of us experience when having to keep such opinions to ourselves, remember that it’s not your job to control others. You just worry about you; about the way you live your life, do your job, and handle your reactions toward such people. Relieve yourself of the responsibility of trying to fix others or convince them to think the way that you do. That’s not part of your job description.
When you’ve been drinking
This one should seem obvious, and yet how many of us still find ourselves full of confidence-juice, taking the opportunity to tell someone “what we really think.” It happens more often then we’d like to admit and can get us into more trouble than we are aware of in the moment. Again, it can be frustrating to suppress our opinions regarding the way others act or think, especially when it goes so against our own way, and when under-the-influence our power to keep these opinions to ourselves can be severely weakened. We may be totally convinced that “for sure, this is the very best moment to bring this up,” but more often than not, in the sober light of day, we wake up knowing we were wrong. Not only can expressing ourselves during these impulsive moments get us into trouble, but it can also weaken our position and any authority we were trying to convey on the matter. If you know you suffer from the booze-blurts, the easiest solution is to abstain from that which makes you blurt, and make it a rule of thumb that if you can’t say, or haven’t said it sober, party time is not the time.
When it’s highly debatable
We all know the usual protocol: never discuss sex, religion, or politics. The reason for this is that opinions on such matters are often very personal, strong, and can differ extremely amongst even small groups of people. There are many subjects beyond these three that can also turn a lunchroom chat into a workplace war, and so it takes sensitivity to the subject matter, to the people in the conversation, and using your savvy social skills to evaluate the situation and determine when to talk and when to not. If a conversation begins to turn heated, personal, or emotional, agree to disagree, change the subject, make a joke, or just duck out.