How much should they know?

I took a leap back into the corporate world for a short time, listening to the idea that it could be temporary and that the build of security in finances and retirement would do me good.

What I’ve learned is that it has not changed from being a cutthroat/competitive and number driven environment. As a matter of fact it is worse. The amount of people who have access to your personal information and ability to stop, block, or alter anything they want in those areas are on a larger scale than they were 10 years ago.

It’s extremely sad to me that as a society we have to walk around armed at all times, knowing that if someone doesn’t like the way you said something (regardless of the intention), they could have power over your life. Let’s think about that for a second.

Terry has lots of friends and connections to different areas of business. They all like her and would do things for her because of that fact.
She meets Rosa and they get along fine but Rosa is a bit standoffish because she takes her time to get to know people. Terry doesn’t understand why she isn’t instantly liked and complains to a friend about it. That friend takes it upon herself to look into Rosa’s background and/or finances. Her thought process was maybe this individual has something to hide. So, she goes about her investigation. (Which is perfectly legal today through the internet). She then shares the information she has found with Terry. Here comes the first question: Is this appropriate?
Second: Does it matter what was seen, should she be sharing personal information about another persons life? It states on most websites not to do so, however it still happens, that’s just a fact.

Let’s face another fact right now. We have ALL made mistakes, bad decisions, and had to learn lessons in life….that does not make a bad PERSON, it just means the person is human. However, the way information is presented can play a part in how someone is perceived by another.

Let’s go back to our example again, what if a third friend was around Terry when being told the information on Rosa’s past. Would that be considered gossip or just concerned friends? What if they unknowingly talked about Rosa in front of someone who was getting ready to provide assistance or a job opportunity to her. Could that potentially ruin the image that Rosa showed of herself (the best self, not the mistakes she’s made in the past)? Would that change your choice of whether it is gossip or not? Should they feel bad if they impacted her chances at a better future because of discussing her past? In this scenario no one truly knows her well enough to see if she has learned from her past.

That brings me to these questions: How much information is too much information to learn about someone before connecting on different levels? Does working with someone entitle you to know about all aspects of their life? Why?

Somethings to consider: If someone is working with money and finances, does it make sense to see whether the individual has a history of bankruptcy and/or charges of fraud, embezzlement? I would say yes. I would also say that how a person handles their own money is not a employers business (especially if they do not pay a decent portion of financial support towards their living expenses), but I can see where they may have concern (whether from a sense of empathy or self preservation of their business).

What do you think? How much information should be shared between friends? What about on a business level? Do people have a sense of separation from friends and business? Should they?

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