I taught a class, once, called Civil Discourse in the Work Environment. It was all about having honest conversations with one another while respecting boundaries & shit. Let me summarize it for you so you don’t have to take the four-hour course: don’t be a jerk at work.
So in the spirit of my former ‘glory days’ as the HR guru extraordinaire, I was intrigued to find a list of the ‘eight don’t asks’ of the Olympics — per the Chinese government. I really love the parallels between a corporate class on how to talk to your co-workers and a government list on how to talk to foreign visitors who are attending the Olympics. Here is an excerpt:
The posters instruct [Chinese] residents on the “eight don’t asks” when chatting with foreign guests.
Don’t ask about income or expenses, don’t ask about age, don’t ask about love life or marriage, don’t ask about health, don’t ask about someone’s home or address, don’t ask about personal experience, don’t ask about religious beliefs or political views, don’t ask what someone does.
The Chinese government also suggests that its citizens refrain from asking about fair labor conditions, the right to organize, the differentiations between capitalism and democracy, or the fate of the true Panchen Lama.
Dudes, no one wants to discuss the Panchen Lama? I’m shocked!
Don’t ask what someone does? Weird. Americans seem to love talking about what they do. Not sure about other countries. Wait…maybe that’s the point?