Originally Posted by pterodactyl  Maybe I didn't make myself clear.
"Why hide this info from your employer? Why try to work somewhere where you have to hide a part of yourself every day you go to work?"
Let's take the alarming case of those people here who are posting, in a public forum, that they have mental illness or have cheated on their spouses or have had thoughts of murder, etc. These things one would not in good conscience admit to one's coworkers because it would be stupid to do that. Now, imagine that one of those people has worked very hard to obtain a position that is leading them in the right direction in their lives. They generally enjoy their jobs, but they cannot control how others treat or perceive them, and if that job is competitive, any fuel for the fire is fair game. Should that person leave the environment because of a few bad apples? No, but in that case you have to be careful. Disclosing your dark and dirty secrets to people on a public web forum, and turning the whole world into your personal twelve step program is stupid. I'm actually a bit alarmed at all these responses. Do none of these folks have employers who do background checks, or anticipate that they might? I suppose if it comes down to that, then yes, you would need to own your mistakes. But why open yourself up to that? If you were a sex addict, mentally ill, etc., why in God's name would you ever share that information with your employer if you wanted to keep the job you worked hard to get?
I am not saying it's wrong or stupid to open up and share. Far from it! But do so wisely. Not everyone is in Steve's position, nor should everyone want or aspire to be.
This has nothing to do with soulless environments and evil employers--it's about being smart and managing your future. Like it or not, there are people in the world who will, for absolutely no reason, do what they can do to undermine you. Why not protect yourself from that? Sure, share all you want with trusted friends and advisors--that is why they are trusted. I am just encouraging others to be intelligent about accomplishing their goals. I'm sorry, but I don't think the world is a big wide open friendly place, and wanting or pretending that it is so is not going to make it so. |