multiple personality disorder
Is it just me, or do people take on different personalities around different people?
Case in point, the office, with my all male colleagues.
With my Lebanese colleague, I'm comfortable, chatty, teasing, but I remain conservative. He will never hear my 'stories'.
With my newly arrived Egyptian colleague, I'm guarded but friendly.
With the amazing Indian, I'm philosophical, literary, more mature.
With the Brit, I'm fascinated, naive, open, and he's learned more about me in a month than the Lebanese has in almost a year. I'm as comfortable with him as I am with my girlfriends. He will definitely be hearing my stories.
I've never been one to mould my personality to suit people's needs. My dad would actually testify to the contrary, I'm quite headstrong and generally don't take crap from anyone.
Is it age? Is it society? Why do I modify my very own personality around different people?
I noticed this today while having a very work-inappropriate conversation with the Brit, and the minute the Lebanese guy arrived, I switched into conservative mode. I guess living here long enough makes you realise that despite how much you don't give a crap about what people think, you have to give a crap about what people think.
This is a small city. I've heard things about myself that I didn't even know I did, and the same goes for many people who've been around here a while. In my teenage years, I did all the things raging teenagers do. But now that I'm a 'working woman', these things creep up out of nowhere, and you never know when.
It's so weird, I never thought I'd watch anything I did for fear of it having repercussions on my reputation. Am I a hypocrit, am I being too careful, or am I doing the right thing?
posted by sky @ 11:24 PM
8 Comments:
We grow up and we learn to be political, it is necessary for survival in the workplace. Contrary to you, I've never been quite the radical, but I used to say anything about me when I was younger because "I didn't care" or "I had nothing to hide" and then I learnt (the hard way) that some of the stuff you say can come back and bite you in the ass.
So these days I am more guarded, I pick the people I will say stuff too, and I'm especially careful at work - even though some of my colleagues are quite cool. You never know. I would tend to call it professionalism instead of multiple personalities, especially at work. And professionalism does not mean to be boring or super serious all the time…
Anyhoo, that’s my two cents. I always remind my own sister that: “toutes les vérités ne sont pas bonne à dire” and to be polite and civil with the colleagues she hates or finds especially dumb (she can be quite raw my little sister). I myself try to comply with these rules, but it can be hard :)
you are doing the right thing i guess you be more your self when you at home with family and friends right?
I think these are just traits of your personality that are triggered depending on who you are with. If you were the 'same' with every person, you wouldn't have much of a personality, right?
You would have multiple personality disorder if you were different with the same person, every time you met them.
You're doing the right thing. It's up to you to choose what to reveal and conceal especially at the work place.People like to gossip so why give them something to fuel that?
The right thing.
I'm assuming you're a Brit, which means you instantly have more in common culturally and are more likely to slot into a relaxed mode.
After a year you may get to know your Lebanese colleague better and find yourself having a more raucous time with him than with anyone else!
We're all different with different people - that doesn't mean we're hypocrites. I'd call it politness, caution and consideration.
Thanks for the input guys, you've all mirrored my thoughts.
But redstar, I'm not a Brit, actually Palestinian.
hello sunshine
it was wonderful to run through your blog. love your writing. feel like how u felt when u wrote one your first entry. afraid to step in. How can anyone be so intimate when everyone in the world can read what u written? Also i signed up to say hi. ur in the writing profession rite? would love to get tips.
You are doing the right thing .. some people have nothing to do at work but talk about what others do, say, wear, see, eat ..etc
These are the ones you should watch out for ;)
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