Some Things Should Never be Talked About at Work

At work everyone is expected to be professional, whether it’s for Goldman Sachs or Taco Bell. Certain things are not welcome in the workplace no matter how innocent the conversation might be. Sharing with a boss or coworkers can get someone into trouble, and possibly fired.
Here are a few things that never should be mentioned at work:
  • Check out this rash.” Employees should never discuss personal medical maladies while at work. It could offend someone or frighten them into thinking everyone can catch it.
  • If a woman calls, tell her I’ve left for the day.” Telling others to help avoid someone is offensive on two levels. They may wonder if it’s ever been done to them when they’ve called, and it alerts others to the fact of lying.
  • Have you talked to the new guy? He’s a freekin moron!” Even if the others in the workplace feel the say way about the new guy, don’t let it be you who gets caught talking about him. And refrain from swearing or using words like “freekin;” maintain an air of professionalism.
  • I have such a bad hangover…” People at work don’t need to know all the bad habits someone may have. Drinking to the point of being ill the next day is irresponsible. Plus, if it happens very often coworkers will think the person is possibly an alcoholic.
  • Don’t discuss pay! Work is no place to let people in on your financial fiascos. It looks bad on the person and most places have policies against this behavior. Nobody else needs to know what others make or how high their bills are. Divulging such information can lower a coworker’s opinion of the person doing the telling.
  • Hey, I sent you a friend request on Facebook.” Unless the person leads a pristine life, having coworkers or bosses as friends on Facebook can be fatal for the job. We hear about it all the time; someone loses a job because of a Facebook post. People at work just might be getting too much information.

Help Your Employees Love Their Work

An important aspect of any work environment is the happiness of the workforce.  If the employee morale is low in an organization there is likely to have a high turnover rate.  With turnover there are many consequences that are detrimental to a business. First, when an individual leaves an organization it is often necessary to hire another person to fill the position. This requires the expense of the interviewing and hiring processes, the time and man hours of other employees to train a new individual, and the possibility that the new individual will not perform to the same standards.

So when you have a talented and productive group of individuals it is important to do your best as a company to ensure employee satisfaction.  This duty in larger organization is often the role of the human resources department, but in some organizations this is a duty of the managers. In an article by John R. Ryan in Bloomberg Businessweek he states that managers who show concern for the well being of their employees help in retention of these valuable resources. For a business, employees are usually the most valuable resource of the company.  Many companies are finding that in order to maintain this resource it is necessary to provide some sort of reward. This reward can come in a variety of forms. Whether the incentives for work are bonuses, time off or various perks from work, employees need to feel as if their company knows they are alive and cares about the work they do and lives they live.

Therefore, employers need to find methods to connect with their employees and determine how the work environment can be improved. Often companies will issue employee satisfaction surveys. These surveys can allow employees to voice their opinions on how to make the company a better place to work and often offer suggestions that can increase productivity. Whatever the method getting your employees involved can be very beneficial.