An illustration of employees
Workplace experts shared six phrases to avoid when speaking to your boss.

Hello there! Answering the age-old question of who gets the dog in the divorce is getting a bit easier thanks to the rise of pet prenups.

In today's big story, you shouldn't be so keen to share everything with your manager.

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The big story

TMI = too much intel

Photo collage featuring Valerie Rodriguez, an HR professional

We're taught to share as kids, but doing it in the workplace has serious downsides.

HR director Valerie Rodriquez detailed what you shouldn't share with your manager to avoid uncomfortable situations.

For example, you should keep your weekend plans to yourself, lest they're used against you.

Rodriguez's friend faced rumors at work after calling in sick because people assumed she was at a concert, something she had previously told her manager she enjoyed.

That might seem like an extreme situation — and more an example of a toxic work environment — but it doesn't make the point less valid. Disclosing personal details at work can often lead to more harm than help.

It's an important lesson to learn at a time when the workplace has drastically changed since the pandemic. Zoom calls and Google Hangouts broke down some barriers between work and personal lives. (Remember virtual happy hours?!)

Add in the fact the workforce's newest entrants — Gen Z — aren't familiar with typical corporate customs, and you can see how oversharing can become an issue.

An employee on a laptop with crosshairs around him
Eddy Gramajo (not pictured) was fired after 18 months at Deloitte.

Maybe you feel shedding your personality at work could ultimately hold you back.

After all, building relationships with colleagues is sometimes a ticket to success. And being the personality hire has its benefits.

But Eddy Gramajo fell into the trap of focusing on corporate culture over his actual work at Deloitte, which led to his firing after 18 months.

Gramajo, who has since built a successful career in tech working at Dropbox, faced an uphill battle when he joined the Big Four firm as a first-generation college graduate from a low-income background. Surrounded by people he felt were more comfortable in the corporate environment, he relied on one of his biggest strengths to get by: relationship-building skills.

That worked for a time. However, performance issues resulting from his lack of focus on work began to pile up, eventually leading to his termination.

Gramajo's experience at Deloitte was a decade ago, but the takeaway is even more relevant today. With fears of a recession and layoffs seemingly never going away, employees might be better off just focusing on their work.

After all, they say work friends are overrated.


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What's happening today

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  • Nordstrom and other companies report earnings.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

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