Plenty of companies say they want workers to bring their authentic selves to work. But how real is too real?
That’s the question TikToker Margaret Skiff (@margaretskiff) asked herself in a video she posted on June 6. It currently has almost 52,000 likes and 427,000 views.
@margaretskiff Pro tip: dont use the phrase raw-dog in conversation as soon as you start a new job #newjob #workplace #working #workfromhome #job #corporatelife #firstimpression #margaretskiff ♬ original sound – Margaret Skiff
Skiff started the video by explaining that she’s been unemployed for two months. The incident she recounts occurred on her second day at her new job.
“I think I’ve kind of forgotten that there are just some things you don’t say at work,” she said to preface the story.
As Skiff tells it, she was in a morning meeting with co-workers making small talk about needing their caffeine fix when a new colleague asked her if she drank coffee.
“I went, ‘No, I like to just raw-dog my mornings,’” the creator recalled, flashing a look of regret.
She added, “I really don’t know if that was a great first impression or a horrible first impression.”
The comments section seemed to have the answer.
“Oh I would want to be your friend immediately,” one viewer wrote. Skiff replied, “I hope that’s what everyone else thought too.”
“As a girlie who was unemployed for a year and is now in an office. say those things. it adds flavor to the norm,” a second said.
“I used the term at my new work place and my manager was like ‘I love how you [phrased] that’ so maybe find a new job with cooler poeple lmao,” another commented.
Just to make it clear to anyone who’s not sure exactly what’s happening here: The phrase “raw dog” means to have sex without a condom (it’s in the dictionary and everything). But colloquially, it means to approach a situation without any aid or prep, like starting your day without caffeine or taking a test without cracking a textbook.
So when it comes to work, how much should you pepper in the kind of ribald language that you’d use with friends?
On one hand: Timothy Jay, a psychology professor and swearing expert, told BBC in 2021 that using dirty language in a professional setting can be a useful social practice.
Jay told BBC, “I tell my students, especially in my intro classes, ‘Look, I’m going to say some swear words in here. How do you react to that?’ They say, ‘It makes you seem more like us.’ It creates a connection, rather than keeping them at arm’s length.”
On the other hand: A quick Google search also brings up plenty of law firms’ websites delving into when profanity and sexual language can constitute a hostile work environment.
As with many things in life, there may be no one-size-fits-all answer to this one.
Others have shared their own workplace fears on TikTok recently, like the employee who discussed feeling embarrassed by everything when starting a new gig.
The Daily Dot contacted Skiff for comment via email and did not receive an immediate response.
