TMI at Work

You’ve probably worked with people who just can’t stop talking about themselves. They rattle on and on about topics in which you have absolutely no interest. When you see them coming, your first thought is “how can I escape?”. These annoying chatterboxes inspired someone to coin the term “TMI”, short for “too much information”.

But before you judge these talkative colleagues too harshly, be sure that your own slate is clean. You may be bored to tears with the details of their vicious divorce, but do you ever return the favor by endlessly bragging on your brilliant children or recounting every shot in your last round of golf? To check your own TMI tendencies, review the list below.

What do you talk about at work?	How frequently?
Your spouse’s annoying habits and peculiarities	Often	Sometimes	Never
Arguments with your family members	Often	Sometimes	Never
Twists and turns in your nasty divorce	Often	Sometimes	Never
The activities of your brilliant and adorable children	Often	Sometimes	Never
The aggravating behavior of your in-laws	Often	Sometimes	Never
Intimate details of romantic encounters	Often	Sometimes	Never
Your dog, cat, hamster, iguana, or any other pet	Often	Sometimes	Never
Crazy drunken escapades	Often	Sometimes	Never
Trips and vacations (with or without pictures)	Often	Sometimes	Never
Your swinging single social life	Often	Sometimes	Never
Your lack of a social life	Often	Sometimes	Never
Buying, building, selling, or decorating your house	Often	Sometimes	Never
Problems with your boyfriend(s) or girlfriend(s)	Often	Sometimes	Never
Details of surgical procedures	Often	Sometimes	Never
Illnesses and medications	Often	Sometimes	Never
Disturbances with bodily functions (we’ll omit the specifics)	Often	Sometimes	Never
Pregnancy problems and delivery dramas	Often	Sometimes	Never
Your astounding athletic prowess	Often	Sometimes	Never
Views on political candidates and issues	Often	Sometimes	Never
Your anxieties, addictions, phobias, or emotional problems	Often	Sometimes	Never
Your brilliant investment strategies	Often	Sometimes	Never
Religious beliefs, convictions, and opinions	Often	Sometimes	Never

It’s fine to share information about your life with coworkers. After all, that’s how we get to know people and build relationships. But the more times you checked “often”, the greater the risk of people falling asleep in your cubicle or ducking into the restroom when they see you coming.

Even if you have a conversational partner who’s equally interested in your favorite topic, you are probably wasting huge chunks of work time swapping stories. So save the TMI binges for your friends and family – or at least confine them to breaks and lunch.

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