Maintaining Professional Boundaries: The Pros and Cons of Sharing Personal Problems with Colleagues in a Law Firm

Description

• Harrison discusses the importance of caution when sharing personal problems with colleagues in a law firm.
• Revealing personal issues can be used against individuals, potentially harming their career prospects.
• The more prominent the firm, the greater the need for carefulness.
• Although not all firms operate this way, it is generally advised to be cautious about sharing problems with other attorneys.
• Sharing personal matters can shape how others perceive and think about an individual, affecting their professional brand.
• While it is acceptable to discuss common life events like illness, deaths, or divorces, it is crucial to exercise caution to avoid weakening oneself in the eyes of others.

Transcript

Transcript:

No, it's not okay to tell a lot of attorneys in your office about your problems because if you tell people about your problems, anything you tell someone else, they will often use against you. And then that can hurt your career prospects. And almost the more prominent the firm, the more careful you have to be.

No. Is that like that at all firms? No, of course not. Some firms, but it's not Okay. So you must be very careful; I wouldn't say I like saying that. So that's, I just, I don't like that, and I think that's wrong that it has to be that way, but that's how the profession is. You have to be very careful about it.

Tell other attorneys in the firm about your problems; you just have to be very careful about sharing your issues. Cause it'll always be used against you, shaping your brand and how people think about you. And it's unfortunate because people won't want to be human. And if there's nothing wrong with getting sick, everyone gets sick.

Everyone has deaths in the family and divorces, so that you can talk about these things. But you have to be very careful about things. It could weaken you in the eyes of others. You want to be human, but you have to be very careful.