Have We Crossed the Line?

In business and industry, there has always been an invisible line drawn between one’s personal and business life, until now. The familiar expression “what I do in my personal life is my own business” no longer seems to fit.

That definitive line may have started to erode years ago when organizations offered wellness programs and started collecting personal data about employees’ body fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and so forth.

But since COVID, there’s been another significant shift that demonstrates, once again, the crossing of the line. The Wall Street Journal recently reported in the article “Back to the Office, Sort of. No Pressure.” by Katherine Bindley, that “conversations that may have once taken place with friends outside of the office now feel natural among colleagues who have grown accustomed to supporting their peers during the pandemic.”  And remember, with Zoom and other virtual tools, workers were able to get a glimpse into their co-workers’ personal lives. This has never happened before. Team members know of each other’s dogs and cats, and yes kids, who demand the most attention!

As a result, there appears to be a new type of intimacy that’s creeping into the workplace where employees console one another and seek out each other’s advice. Co-workers have always looked to their colleagues for help, but typically, not about personal and family-related matters.

The implication of this new intimacy raises some interesting questions. For instance, are companies our new family? During COVID, some leaders have expressed to their employees that “we are family” with the idea that we need to stick together to help each other out. But, with the COVID threat subsiding, what does this mean now? What if you are still not comfortable sharing your personal life with others, will you be viewed as an outcast for not playing along? One thing is for sure, more than ever before, employees are going to need to think before they speak and take responsibleness for what they say. That’s because, whether in a weak or excited moment, whatever they’ve uttered, they don’t get the words back. Interestingly, at that moment they may have crossed the line.

Then again, with greater familiarity among employees, will the conversations that take place build closer relationships? We’ve heard that when it comes to our neighborhoods, “high fences” make good neighbors. If our conversations go beyond the work and tap into more personal matters, will that result in using what we know about each other as a weapon? And will it change the boundaries of what’s acceptable to criticize each other about? As an example: “You need to get a life. You spend too much time on emails over the weekend.” or “the way you responded to your partner, I couldn’t do that and get away with it!”

I’d like your thoughts!