Which is the place where we spend most of our day? Our work place. And who are the people we share it with? Of course our colleagues. Naturally, we want to share with them a good relationship, based on friendship and trust.

Unfortunately, many times we are too cool about what we choose to discuss, something that may have negative consequences to our career or even cost us a well-deserved promotion. So, which are the topics we should avoid talking about?

• Our bad experiences from previous employers:   It is understandable that we had our reasons to leave our previous work, some of them maybe very unpleasant. Nevertheless, we should be extremely careful and refer to our past employer as positive as possible if we don’t want to show immaturity to handle our share of responsibilities.
• Our political views: It is considered as the main discussion topic especially between strangers, but we should also keep in mind that politics are also a very sensitive subject. It can put someone in an uncomfortable position in addition to not be appropriate for the strict office environment.
• How the job hunt is going: We do not imply that you shouldn’t always search better career opportunities but it is not advisable to share it with our colleagues. Even though we are very excited about our plans, an incautious comment can even lead to their cancellation.
• Medical issues: We don’t refer, of course, to a simple headache or a flu. A detailed conversation about serious medical issues makes the others uncomfortable as they don’t know the appropriate way to react.
• Personal details: As above, reference to serious personal problems or too intimate details, cause embarrassment and gossip. We should always keep in mind that our colleagues, no matter the good relation we had with them, are not our family nor our best buddies.
• Complains about our boss or other employees: The reason is obvious, in close environments, nothing stays hidden for long. Even something less important can be magnified from word to word and have longtime effects.
• Critic to company’s strategy: Because sometime we may need to defend it, we should keep our disagreements for ourselves.

A good work environment and harmonic relations with colleagues is an important element of our professional life. Despite, it is necessary to respect the rules and distinguish between professional and friendly environment.