I used to work with someone who would address me at work as, “my sweet.”
This was not okay.
You see, “my sweet,” is too familiar, and not professional. Just after a couple of weeks greeting me with “my sweet,” my colleague had assumed a familiarity with me that was not okay to me. She thought it was alright to critique my fashion, pointing out what she thought was an ill-fitting shirt one day in front of other colleagues. Although I didn’t internalize the insult—I felt super confident in my boho chic shirt—I felt completely embarrassed that I had let her believe that it was okay to be that familiar with me.
I should have nipped this one in the bud. I should have confronted her about calling me “my sweet” before she thought we were close enough for her to share her honest opinion about my fashion.
Since then I’ve been much more aware of language that is too personal for the workplace. I’ve also learned that when I encounter unprofessional language, I shouldn’t procrastinate addressing it. In the end, the longer the boundaries are blurred, the blurrier they become.
How do you maintain professional language boundaries at work? Tell us about it by sharing a comment below.