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As open-plan offices increase in popularity, IT contractors and IT managers are all finding themselves experiencing—or perhaps becoming—a office oversharer.  According to studies, more than 3 in 5 workers says they are dealing with people oversharing at work.  Information technology tends to be team-oriented, with IT consultants working closely together on projects.  This kind of work does require some sharing.  Building bonds with coworkers can boost productivity, accountability, and overall effort from IT professionals.  However, it’s best to draw a line, too.  Oversharing can hurt your reputation, and not just at your current company.  IT recruiters have a hard time placing people who have a reputation of overstepping personal boundaries at work, no matter how stellar their resumes are.

How do you identify somebody who’s oversharing, or whether you are the one oversharing?  There’s no hard and fast rules for this, but there are some ways oversharing tends to hurt a team or individual employees at work.  Firstly, if somebody is oversharing personal info so often it gets in the way of actual work, it’s time to ask for a little silence.  Less obviously, oversharing will make people feel uncomfortable.  People don’t generally want to know the intimate details of their coworkers’ lives.  If it’s venting or advice you’re seeking, hold off at work.  Personal conversations that go deeper than general pleasantries or weekend plans are better left for your friends.