"Recently, I was tasked with helping to train a new hire: a much younger guy who has a superior ranking to me. He picks up things quickly. But the issue is that he overshares personal information and asks too many personal questions. He has been having romantic issues, which he talked about with another person and me. One day, he even had an emotional breakdown (crying and yelling) at work, which required soothing and calming him down."
"Hoo, this new hire is bringing lots of drama. That's not necessarily a problem-drama can liven up a boring workplace. But some of his drama is splashing onto you, and you can try to contain it. When the new hire overshares, nod but don't engage. Make vague responses, like "Huh," "I'm happy for you," or "I'm sorry that happened," and change the subject. If he asks you personal questions, you don't have to answer."
A newly hired, higher-ranked colleague in a city accounting unit is oversharing personal romantic problems, having emotional breakdowns at work, frequently using his phone, and taking long walk breaks. Managers are not present during these occurrences, and the coworker is not fulfilling expected work responsibilities. Colleagues are advised to contain the spillover by setting clear emotional boundaries: do not engage with oversharing, respond vaguely, decline to answer personal questions, and consistently change the subject. These tactics aim to preserve workplace professionalism and limit the emotional burden on teammates while keeping interactions brief and neutral.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]