In an open environment, with employees situated in cubicles rather than in offices, employees have the opportunity to learn a lot about their co-workers’ professional and personal lives.
If you are faced with a colleague who always seems to know everything that’s going on in your life, you might want to be more discreet at work. That means keeping personal calls to a minimum or using a conference room to handle personal business. You may also want to let the resident snoop know that you don’t appreciate the lack of privacy by addressing the situation directly. Example: “We work in close proximity, and we’ll occasionally hear each other’s personal business. I hope we’re both professional enough to keep that information to ourselves.”
If your nosy neighbor has truly crossed the line, talk to your manager about the situation. The organization may be able to make adjustments in the office layout to provide you with more privacy.
— Adapted from “Handling Difficult Co-Workers,” www.business-marketing.com.
[Photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/striatic.]
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