Posted by noa on October 23, 2003, at 13:06:49
In reply to Re: I really need help on this.. » Susan J, posted by Larry Hoover on October 22, 2003, at 16:54:40
I like a lot of the ideas people are giving. But it is also sounding to me like you need to also protect yourself by keeping personal calls and emails to a minimum at work, and not doing the personal internet stuff at work at all. She is someone who doesn't get subtle messages and if you are going to try to keep clearer boundaries with her, it may take being very 'black and white' about what is personal and what is work-related, ie, not to give her any fodder for invading your personal business. Also, if a major dispute erupts at some later date, you don't want her to be able to point to your using work time for personal calls and personal internet use, as a weapon.
Of course, no one can eliminate all personal calls, etc. It is just a fact of office life that you will sometimes need to communicate with family or friends or deal with personal business matters. But I would definitely keep it to a minimum and if it is very sensitive information, take a break and go outside and use your cell phone or some other way of being able to have an important private call.
I'm not saying you have done these things excessively or anything, but because of the boundary issues, you want to be very very careful to minimize your own vulnerability, and that may mean sticking more strictly to business. I'm talking from experience, learning the hard way that letting personal and work boundaries blend came back to bite me when the company started cutting back on positions last year, and all bets were off on trust issues. It was very painful.
poster:noa
thread:271851
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031020/msgs/272324.html