Everyone in an organization sees material or hears conversations that
should be kept confidential.
Some of it is normal, day-to-day information in a department. Not high-secret stuff? In
some cases it isn’t, but often the information we come across is sensitive.
It could be a conversation about a fellow worker. It could be news about a production
change or a change in how equipment will be used. It could be related to new processes
that will be instituted.
When discussing anything about your work, especially in a public place, there is no way
to know who can hear it. There is no way to know who will hear it from that person.
The most prudent practice is to leave information about what you have seen or heard at
your workplace. At work, give information, if it’s your place to do so, only to those
who need to know.
"Wait until you hear what happened at the office today ..."
"Listen, when this new process is up and running, we will be able to ..."
"My wife works there. She says ..."
All of these words will be followed by information that should have been left right
where it was found.
Carrying stories from one department to another can be just as damaging. What’s
confidential, and what is not? Sometimes there is a fine line between casual talk about
work and saying things that damage another person’s reputation or revealing
privileged information.
The best policy is to guard against discussing details of your job with others.
Remember that the person you talk to is the FIRST who will hear what you said, and details
will probably be altered in later versions.
