People spend a lot of time at work. On average, work takes up a third of your life. That’s a lot of time to spend with your coworkers, if you have them. Sharing personal information with your coworkers seems inevitable when you work so closely with the same group of people over the years.
But, should you share personal information with your colleagues? And is it ok to share any type of information, or are some topics off limits? New research suggests that sharing personal information at work might be more uniformly positive than you might think. Keep reading to learn more!
Personal Information Makes Coworkers Seem More Human
First, this research found that sharing personal information with your colleagues makes you seem more like a “real person”. In the corporate world, people can seem fairly cold and impersonal. Sharing personal information helps your colleagues to see you as more human, or like a whole person, with a life outside of work.
You can share information about your background, childhood, hobbies, family and friends, or major life events you’ve experienced or have coming up. Really, anything that helps communicate something personal about you will help your colleagues to see you as more “whole”!
Personal Information Sharing Leads to Better Relationships
When people see each other as more human at work, they are more likely to be responsive to each others’ needs. You can think of this like helping behavior. If you need something from your coworkers, they will be more likely to respond to your needs with care and attention, if you’ve shared more personal information with them.
When people know more about each other, they feel more inclined to stay attuned to each other’s needs. They are also more likely to meet those needs when they become aware of them. In this way, sharing personal information with colleagues helps improve relationships.
Should you share everything?
Interestingly, this research shows that the more you share – even if it clashes with your colleagues’ values – the more human you seem and the more responsive they become. Of course, this is within professional bounds. You shouldn’t be sharing sexually explicit stories with coworkers, for example. But, outside of things that are harmful or illegal, it might be ok to share away.
Even when information that was shared between colleagues showed that they held different beliefs or had different moral views than their coworker, relationships improved. It also didn’t seem to matter if what was shared had the potential to make people think the person sharing might be less dedicated to their job. For example, if you share that you spend three nights a week coaching your child’s soccer team, you might be afraid that colleagues will think that this is distracting you from your work. But, at least with regard to making you seem more human, that doesn’t seem to be the case. So, if you want to share something with your coworkers, go for it! Coworker relationships can often make or break your work experiences. So, lean into sharing more about yourself!
