Am I too cynical about this?

I think you have a point, professional life should not be shared with the personal life and vise-versa. If you mix up the two then I am sure that both of them will get affected or ruined. What is important is that one should be very very careful to never let it happen. It is always disturbing when such things happen, but don't worry it will be okay if you ignore them and try to focus on the profession only. I wish you good luck.

I don't like nosiness and gossip, either. Some people need too much drama in their lives, and it sounds like your co-workers are like that. Just keep making it clear to them that not everything is everybody else's business. Good for you for wanting to keep your life private.

That is the same way with me. Alot of people like to gossip and spread the word or business to alot of people. They live for it. they do not realise how bad it makes them seem or look to not be able to keep their mouth shut about private matters.

I know where you are coming from. Men don't talk about breakups, they just want to be let alone and this is something people don;t understand/ Girls can be very talkative as if they need to tell the whole world what's going on but man like you does not do otherwise. Just keep you mind off them and they will get tired asking since they will get no answers from you. You are just being honest about your self and this is nice. Cheers!

It was your own doing that almost everybody has known the break-up with your boyfriend. You shouldn't have told anyone about it, if you wanted it to be private. Learn your lesson from that, so next time don't tell anyone of some occurrence in your life that you want private.

You're not being cynical, you're just being safe. Well,try to be more careful next time. Your private life is not a regular news to discuss w/ anyone other than a trusted friend. It's good to put boundaries around you;like a protective wall that keeps everyone off. Sometimes we trust so easily to open up our emotions and we end up being betrayed. Maybe I, too am cynical about this. But I learned not to easily divulge my private story because sometimes they are making fun of it and worse, they will see you as vulnerable. It's okay to talk about your life, just don't share too much. Now you've learned your lesson as well. I learned mine not too long ago.

hi kingparker As you said your private life is private, not u p for grabs to be discussed and laughed and snickered over. I would simply do my work and ignore those who dig. If asked finally just say private means private. sorry but I cannot discuss this at all.You could say I do not gossip so count me out. its tough to be in that spot as a coworker. I agree that most also want their private lives private so why pick on you?.

From my own experience, you need to be firm and tell your colleague not to meddle into someone's personal life matters. So, the very next time you hear they talk about your personal life issues in your working place, just stand near them and let them know about it. I am sure the very next day, they will learn to keep their mouth shut. I am very strict regarding this matter and usually my colleagues understand my character, so they learned to respect it. Good luck and hope your colleagues will understand and respect your decision.

Curiosity is in our nature although other people tend to have more of it. But I agree you should be able to keep your life private. I keep practically everything to myself although I don't think that's such a good thing for me. Anyways your work and personal life should not mix it's just a formula for disaster.

I agree. Share it in mylot instead and we won't annoy you about that after giving our advices ! Some people can't just help but pry into other people's lives. They find enjoyment in doing so at the expense of another. They are very insensitive and they just make it a joke.

You're not cynical, you are just more of a private person when it comes to your life outside work. I will also find it frustrating when I'm in your shoe. Too bad, the one you trusted immediately and hastily spread the news to the hungry town. The incident is quite a blessing for you to remember that the next time you share someone about a tidbit of your personal life, you should be careful. Trust is not easy to give nor not easy to earn. Just don't mind them. Keep your chin up and show them that you are really over at your ex. Showing to the public that you are really a sportsman will implicate how strong and determine you are. Smile at them and just simply say, "We broke up and that's it". People will not be buzzing around if they see you not into the issue. Anyways, news will just die itself same as gossips. Just make it sure that you will not encounter same scenario the next time around. ^_^

Your life is no longer private as soon as you tell someone who is not involved. At work and at school is probably the worst place to discuss parts of your life that you want to keep private. It's actually a lot easier than you think to avoid drama when it comes to other people discussing other people's lives. I make excuses all the time of why I have to go somewhere just to avoid hearing about someone's drama. Humans are social creatures and even though some of us don't want to be involved; others might feel it is necessary in order to fit in. Just do your job and try not to think about anything else. Sometimes you can't avoid being dragged into things, but you have an advantage... you have your job to distract you.