365QOD- Day1273

Oversharer- The Patient

"Please sit down and tell me your problem."- A naïve request

In the article in WSJ Office Oversharers: Don’t tell Us about last Night June 25, 2014 article by Sue Shellenbarger the third type she defines is The Patient.

"Definition: The Patient- Uses the office to vent and analyze personal problems."

I rarely share very personal problems with my co-workers.  Unlike the Patient type of oversharer, I believe that work is for work and personal life is to be lived outside of work.  However, that is the idealized version of me.

One can not help but give some details of their home lives at work.  If you are spending more than a fraction of 1% of your day(15 minutes) talking about your problems at home while at work then you have a problem and fit this type of oversharer.   But notice that the definition also includes analyzing problems.  That means other people are coming your office and spending more than 15 minutes per day pulling you into their drama.

I believe that we need to keep soft walls of separation between different areas of our lives.  You can let others into your room but keep the wall there just in case you want to keep others out.  

With this rule in mind, I have changed jobs many times in my career and still maintain friendship with at least one person who was a co-worker from each job.

Today's question is:

"What fraction of your day is venting and analyzing problems?"