For some people learning when to keep their thoughts to them is a challenge. It gets even more critical in a workplace where they need to avoid stirring pointless conversations. Yes, everyone has a right to speech, but not to fuel office politics, resentment or concerns.

Learning when to express strong, potential controversial views and what to say is simply learning to be professional. The weight of what you say also changes as you climb up the ladder or when you’re positioning yourself for a move. And remember, because few people laugh at your jokes or affirm your controversial statements, this doesn’t make them acceptable in a work environment.

So what situations require better judgements of your comments? Here are some to keep in mind.

When you’re asked to take sides

Office politics thrive on people takes sides. If you know of an issue that is brewing between coworkers and you get asked for your input, you can certainly talk with whomever reaching out to you. But don’t go overboard with badmouthing others, oversharing details that you know, or creating a triangle situation, where you talk to everyone involved and exchange details.

Even when you clearly are aware of what side you’d like to take, remain gracious. This mean you don’t say something you would not say to the other party’s face. If you have information that could fuel further conflict, use your best judgement. What benefit do you really get from creating more grudges?

When your comments are inappropriate

In a workplace, you are expected to be a professional and a responsible adult. Making inappropriate comments based on someone’s race, appearance, behaviour, personal life or the like is unacceptable. Period.

In addition, you might be getting yourself in major trouble if your comments violate company policy. For example, if your comments on someone’s appearance is considered sexual harassment. So be aware that the consequences could be far worse than others considering you an obnoxious person.

When your comments can be intolerable

Some topics are not really the right material for office conversations. For example, polarising political or social issues can create a great discomfort for those who don’t share your view. The result could be creating a hostile environment, which could cost your job.

If you feel strongly about some ongoing topic in the news, for example, and you do bring it up, be prepared to listen to the other opinion. And you should never get in a heated argument over this topic with coworkers, especially if they report to you. The aftertaste of such an argument is simply discomforting, and can complicate a professional relationship unnecessarily.

When you’re enforcing company policy

If you disagree with your superiors regarding company policy, you need to discuss with them a change of these policies. If that is not possible and you’re assigned to enforce a policy that doesn’t agree with you, you can say something, but don’t provide the entire background of disagreement. Some companies are show to change, but until this happen you — as a manager — want to sustain employee confidence and reduce any concerns about conflicting directions.

In addition, the policy is related to an employee termination or disciplinary action, your disagreement can be taken against the company if the issue escalates into litigation.

When you’ve moved on

Badmouthing past employers isn’t just bad form, it actually could get you in trouble if your rants reveal confidential information, benefit a competitor or tarnish the company’s reputation with a client, for example. So before you into the details of what you would consider a horrible experience with a past employee, measure what you need to say and the benefit. It is probably not worth it to do so low to hurt someone you don’t work for anymore.

Even in a more positive situation, be careful how much you share about past employers’ operations. Nondisclosure agreements can be legally loaded and hard to consume. As a rule of thumb, try to avoid the temptation to share details. Transferable skills and lessons can be safe and more helpful when implemented correctly.

The writer a former Gulf News Business Features Editor is a Seattle-based editor.

Keep your mouth shut

• When you’re in the midst of office politics

• When your comments could be inappropriate

• When you want to talk about politics, religion, race, etc

• When you’re enforcing company policy

• When you’re talking about past employers