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HR Worker Shares 7 Things You Should Avoid Doing In The Workplace

Photo: @lavishvaal / TikTok 
TikTok, HR worker, work

There are a lot of unspoken rules one should follow in the workplace that not many employees may be aware of.

In this way, there are many actions that workers may take in order to be successful in the workplace.

However, there are other actions that you should avoid completely.

An HR worker shared her top seven rules for what you should avoid doing in the workplace.

Valerie J. offered advice to employees and her seven key takeaways based on her experiences working in HR for nearly 10 years.

Other users online were seemingly split in opinions based on what she had to say.

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1. Do not get too personal with other employees.

Valerie claims that oversharing details about your personal life with your coworkers may pose a problem. 

   

   

"Sharing too much does not do you any good at any point in your career," she shares.

"Especially when you know that you’re trying to move up [and] you’re trying to establish yourself as a reputable person within the company, do not overshare. It will only come back to haunt you." 

2. Avoid being humble.

“You will never catch me being humble ever again,” Valerie admits.

She once believed that being humble in the workplace would get her far in her career since people would have a positive image of her personality.

However, at the end of the day, Valerie claims that work ethic matters over personality, and success does not leave room for humbleness.

“So many successful women I work with are far from humble and will literally make sure that their presence is felt,” she says.

3. Do not stick around too long at company events.

While she admits that she will attend the occasional happy hour with her co-workers, Valerie advises against staying over an hour at company functions.

“The truth is people start drinking, stuff starts happening and I do not want to be associated with it,” she says.

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4. Do not share your age.

Valerie encourages employees to keep their ages to themselves since it is a factor your employers will often overlook for.

“I clearly look young so that’s already somewhat of a disadvantage in a corporate environment because people do tend to judge and think, ‘oh, you have your whole life ahead of you,'” she reveals.

She argues that employees can be passed up on a great opportunity simply due to their age which is why you should avoid sharing it.

“If I’m qualified for the job that’s all that should matter.”

   

   

5. Do not dwell on mistakes.

While Valerie says that she will acknowledge and provide the solution for a mistake she may make on the job, she will not continue to dwell and harp on them once they’ve happened.

She claims that those you work with will dwell on it if you do and use it to hold against you should you be given an important task at work.

“Let’s focus on solutions and move the f–k on,” she says.

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6. Do not be an extremist.

Valerie defines an “extremist” as someone who engages in over-the-top emotions such as excitement or anger or someone who remains silent and anti-social while working.

She encourages people to have “emotional intelligence” and balance out their emotions.

“I’m not saying don't be yourself, but balance is everything,” she says.

   

   

7. Do not mix your work and personal life if it is not for professional reasons.

Valerie reveals that she does not introduce her co-workers to any of her personal friends and family, claiming that intermixing the two can be “messy.”

“I have seen so many messy investigations come across my desk because people start cheating or not getting along and it seeps right into work,” she says. “That’s the first place it goes.”

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Some TikTok users agreed with Valerie’s advice. 

“HR here too. Never ever forget colleagues aren’t your friends,” one user commented. 

“I am not even working in HR, and I could tell you some stories. You’re 100% accurate,” another user wrote. 

“I love this advice, I plan on working in HR after I graduate and I appreciate this advice so much,” a third shared. 

However, others disagreed with some of Valerie’s points, mainly those discouraging people to get close to co-workers and being humble.

“Disagree, authentic leadership. Stay true to who you are,” one user wrote. 

“I agree with most of this but being too focused on 'moving up' will take the humanity out of you. There is more to life than the corporate ladder,” another user pointed out.

“You can be humble and confident at the same time,” another user added. 

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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.