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Mon 1 Mar, 2004 08:48 pm
How do you handle your private life as it relates to your job? Do you try to keep your work life and your private life separate? And how much success have you had with that? I work in a very corporate, white collar, button-down, money, money, money, environment, which is pretty much the polar opposite of who I am outside work. I have a couple close friends there (it's hard not to make a friend or two as time passes), and I am a pretty friendly person. But there are certain people who I just don't want to share my private life with, and it is very hard to keep some people out of my life, while being outwardly open and friendly to others.
Is it unhealthy to have to change who you are for eight hours everyday, or is it just an unavoidable reality?
My private life is my private life, but that doesn't mean I change who I am for work. Of course, I don't wear my Zorro mask there. :wink:
Seriously, I'm too old to remember to change my personality around depending on who is around me. I have to be me. I'm serious about my work, but not about myself. Then again, that doesn't mean I don't deserve to be respected - but that is respect earned for my work AND for being the generally decent person that I try to be.
Tough question, kickycan, but I think it does get a bit (tiny bit) easier with age.
errrrrr, I'm also in a white-collar corporate setting. We spend a fair bit of time talking about ROE and ROI and loss ratios and jolly things like that. Not too button-down in this particular company, but that's a factor of the very peculiar subset of the industry we're in. I did spend part of yesterday being 'appropriate' in the executive suite, watching a basketball game - so no hootin' and hollerin', which did mean some almost-nail-biting instead. So, me, but slightly quieter than I might have been in the bleachers.
Well, one of the great perks of my job is that I don't really have to change for 8 hours when I clock on. I have to not swear. I can do that, mostly. I care for tiny tots, we play all day.
Like you Kicky, there were always people that I was able to open up too, but then there were plenty that I kept my private life to myself. I grew to dislike working for white collar companies and much prefer to to work in more down to earth atmosphere's these days. I'll take the getting up, throwing on a pair of jeans, a tee-shirt, no makeup, to having to spend an hour getting all dolled up for a large company any day. I went from working in a large payroll company, huge bank, to bartending and driving a cab because I enjoy working with people who are more relaxed and where I could actually be myself.
In answer to the initial question I would have to say both.
Well, one gets weary of being other. Most of us screen our more problematic selves from view on work time, in self defence or simple privacy.. I guess I think self control at work is good, over time.
Easy for me to say, I have been my own boss, mostly, for about fifteen years. The mostly relates to the fact that clients exist.
Depends on your role, too. I found that it just didn't really work to be both a boss and a bosom buddy.
On the other hand,
at my age, which is probably twice yours, kicky, not to me all so much but it is, I would guess, to you, I am sort of cohorts in life with a batch of people who I do love, by now, many of them friends from different work situations, and yes, I know lots of poop about them and they me.
Still, care should be taken.
On the other hand,
at my age, which is probably twice yours, kicky, not to me all so much but it is, I would guess, to you, I am sort of cohorts in life with a batch of people who I do love, by now, many of them friends from different work situations, and yes, I know lots of poop about them and they me.
Still, care should be taken.
Well, one gets weary of being other. Most of us screen our more problematic selves from view on work time, in self defence or simple privacy.. I guess I think self control at work is good, over time.
Kickycan, my company downsized, and now I am currently out of work. But like you, I worked in a "very corporate, white collar, button-down, money, money, money, environment." I had a few friends, but tended to keep my life private because gossip about other coworkers, was the main topic of conversation in the office.
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