# 2 "Var personlig, men var inte privat" - Be personal, but don't be private
So regarding my previous post about the saying/advice I got before - thought it might be interesting to share some thoughts on what that actually entitled (and if there are any Swedes/non-Swedes reading this, feel free to chip in on the cultural issue in this case).
The way I explained it to the students that asked me in my previous post, I told them it's like it's ok to say "I had a shitty day yesterday, you know, some good old family disagreements", and say it with some good humor. But it's not ok to say "I hate my mom".
Does that make sense? I ended up thinking about it some more and I guess the way I've interpreted the difference of being 'personlig'/'personal' and being 'privat'/'private' (sorry about the Swedish/English, language nuance are tricky) is that in the first statement you are being personal by telling people about your personal life outside work, but you are not pushing your problems onto someone else. In the second one, what the heck is your colleague suppose to do with that?? Then you've crossed the line.
The way I explained it to the students that asked me in my previous post, I told them it's like it's ok to say "I had a shitty day yesterday, you know, some good old family disagreements", and say it with some good humor. But it's not ok to say "I hate my mom".
Does that make sense? I ended up thinking about it some more and I guess the way I've interpreted the difference of being 'personlig'/'personal' and being 'privat'/'private' (sorry about the Swedish/English, language nuance are tricky) is that in the first statement you are being personal by telling people about your personal life outside work, but you are not pushing your problems onto someone else. In the second one, what the heck is your colleague suppose to do with that?? Then you've crossed the line.
An artikle in a Swedish newspaper that headlines: "Are you too private at work?"
(btw I just have to say I think it's curious that the picture in the article is of two women
gossiping. I wonder if the person who picked it was aware of his/her own biases, or
if this was perceived as a sales strategy of some sort?)
