That is not the kind of wording you would find in any contract. However, when confidentiality is at play, it includes our spouses. So how about family businesses, where family members work closely together?
If the wife is on the board and the husband is head of HR, there may be situations that they want to discuss at home.
But that will not always be a possibility.
If John from the warehouse has been fired because of alcohol abuse, the HR manager is not allowed to go home and gossip to his wife, even if she also works for the company.
And if the board has a confidential talk about changing the company strategy, that is not something the board member should tell the HR director, regardless of how the changes might affect him.
Confidentiality protects the company, business partners and employees, and the need for it is not diminished by members of the owning family sharing villas, cars, and vinyl records.
However, we should talk openly about confidentiality itself.
In this way, we have the opportunity to explain to our loved ones that there is a legitimate reason to 'keep them out' when we utter the words "I'm not allowed to talk about that."
