A new report has shed light on workplace conversation taboos
Are there certain topics that employees should avoid bringing up at work? A recent report from CV-Library certainly seems to suggest so.
After interviewing over 1,000 workers, the study found that 91% of professionals believe there are some topics you should never discuss with your co-workers.
Over half of those asked admitted to having discussed their private lives with their colleagues, despite most of them believing there should be lines drawn between professional and personal chat.
“The friends we make at work are understandably important to us,” added Lee Biggins, managing director of CV-Library.
“So, it’s not surprising that topics of conversation can turn to our private lives, relationships or office gossip. As an employer, this can be a tricky situation to navigate. While you want to nurture a friendly working environment and encourage staff to get along, you need to make sure you set a good example and lay down some ground rules.”
The report also found that one in ten employees think they should be able to talk about anything they want with their work mates, with a further 50% agreeing it’s natural to debate out personal lives at work – since we spend so much of our time there.
The top five most controversial workplace topics are;
- Salaries – 67.5%
- Office relationships – 65.5%
- Your relationships outside of work – 57%
- Why someone was let go – 52.9%
- Your boss – 47.3%
“While it’s natural that your employees will want to discuss their private lives with their co-workers, this shouldn’t come at the cost of overall productivity and certainly shouldn’t cause ill-feeling amongst the workforce,” explained Biggins.
“Organizing team social events or after work activities can be a great way for staff to catch up with one another outside of office hours and can help to boost morale.”
