Actually, I said no because we don't, but I work in health education and violence prevention and depending on what we're doing that day we might be surrounded by swearing. But no, it would be beyond inappropriate for us employees to do so, we work in schools too much!

I swear like a sailor at home though, and that's going to bite me in the ass one day at work, I know it...hehe.

Swearing in my office has become progressively more common. It's a new company so everyone is just getting comfortable and it does really make the work enviroment better. No one takes it out of hand or makes it uncomfortable so it works for us. Plus it just makes things funnier when telling a story lol

It's particularly funny to watch the really uptight guys throw in a bad word once in a while.

My closest coworkers and I don't really swear, but we'll adopt buzz words like "debacle" (as in "This is a total debacle!") and "ridiculous" (as in "Ridiculous!").

I honestly think that more you swear, the less it gets to be swearing. I mean, my BF for example never swears, but when he does, wow, you know it's serious. For other people it's just every other word out of their mouth and it loses any meaning whatsoever.

I personally don't swear at my coworkers or clients. I don't honestly even think about why not. I just don't.

But I definitely swear now and then. Just not at work.

I have worked in offices where it was a big no no and at my current company it really isn't a big deal. I think there is a time and place where you just need it!

I was so shocked when I first started my job and heard my co-workers swearing in front of my boss. Even my boss swears though. I got used to it quickly and it doesn't bother me at all now. It does make the atmosphere more laid back.

No one here really swears! Like maybe when I'm having a chatter with the younger people maybe they say a swear but rarly.
I accidently do sometimes though :S

It doesn't $#&!@ bother me!

It simply wouldn't ever occur to me to swear at work. That's just not all professional to me.

I swear often, but I naturally refrain from swearing in certain situations, giving no thought to it. Professional situations being at the top of the list. It definitely wouldn't boost my team spirit to have that environment.

I'm not offended by swearing. I just think that it has its place.

Swearing isn't too common around here (military school). I do hear a curse word here and there, but not so much.

I don't think it swearing should be used anywhere. There are much better ways to express yourself and even show greater intelligence by expressing yourself with better words.

I do swear more often than I would like to and rarely at work.

I just noticed that I basically said that cursing isn't heard much around military school. Haha. Well, not so much in my DEPARTMENT.

People cuss like sailors at my office. Me...not so much anymore. When I bartended I did, though

I swear every now and then, everyone at my office curses like a sailor, but I agree with the fact that it isn't professional...I curse every other word when I'm not at work.

I f***kin wish NO, seriously I work at a school with the Department of Defense....we cant even breathe there

No one cares at my super laid back office, but I still think it is a no-no. I read somewhere that it makes you sound less intelligent and I would hate for my co-workers to think I was stupid. Of course I am no angel so I slip up.

It makes everything so much more comfortable around the office to swear, but I think it should be done carefully when around clients or customers. Sometimes, it's appropriate and gets the point across when nothing else will, but you don't want to swear for the sake of swearing in front of your bread and butter. A sprinkling of swear words in the office is okay, and an even sparser sprinkling in front of clients.

I hate swearing. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. I personally rarely swear (as in a handful of times a year), so hearing other people swear is a bit tough for me. All my guy friends stop swearing around me, not because I ask them to, but because they see it bothers me. I think I would have an even harder time accepting swearing at work, especially since it is a very professional environment.

I do think that constant swearing makes someone sound less intelligent. Not inserting a word here and there, or venting once in awhile, but someone like my brother-in-law who cannot speak without the word "f**k" being the adjective for everything.

"Yeah I needed some f***ing hair gel so I went over to f***ing Target and this f***ing guy ran the f*** into my cart."

Good to know, thanks.

I work in a construction office so swearing is like breathing around here. I've definately used more swear words since I've started here than I ever did before, but there are a lot of things around here that are something less than professional. I don't mind though. Never swear around the grandparents though. I figure I'm ok as long as I can still turn it off when it's appropriate.

Cymone, same in my office.

Jinx!

I last worked in a stock brokerage with a trading floor in our office, so yah...lots of swearing. Doesn't bother me.

I don't think occasional use is a bad thing.

I work as a mobile dog groomer, so I don't really have coworkers to swear around - just dogs and clients. When I do swear it's more like "ow, sh*t that hurt!" so my clients are usually more concerned about my well being than my use of profanity. As a whole, though, I agree with most of the comments - yes, it makes a workplace feel more relaxed, but a relaxed, comfortable workplace is usually less professional. The more you swear the less intelligent you look, so I try to save it for when I need to convey the power of an emotion (mostly fear or anger).

I don't work, but I'm a complete potty mouth. I try not to let loose in professional situations though. I've also been pulled aside after classes by a few teacher who have said "you're such a smart, sweet girl and you're so pretty too, do you really have to swear THAT much?".

In work situations no way. Personal life, I have the mouth of a trucker. I of course don't do it around my Mom, Mother in Law, etc though.

We occasionally swear in the office. Mostly when something goes wrong. I swear all the time outside of the office.

I've never worked anywhere where it was *common*, but the occasional expletive can be funny and break the tension. Personally, I can swear like a sailor when the occasion calls for it.

I don't work, but I agree that swearing helps loosen everybody up, as long as it's just around co-workers. It's good when people can control it, though. Like I mostly don't curse in front of my parents except for the occasional "damn".

I'm not a person who swears, not even a little. I am often made fun of by friends when instead of saying hell, I'll say H - E double hockey sticks. You can usually figure out the people who swear occasionally vs. constantly and after awhile I've learned to tune them out, swearing doesn't require a lot of intelligence.

I figure that I respect how others choose to express themselves and I hope for the same in return.

I think it depends on the situation.

I think it's all in what will fit with the situation properly. I don't swear in front of children, my elders, authority figures or other people I'm supposed to hold in esteem (like clients). I generally don't swear first or to a stronger degree than the people I'm talking to.
I have managed to keep my nose clean that way so far-- although I shocked the heck out of my husband (we met at work) the first time he was riding in rush hour traffic with me and I blurted out a string of explitives after almost being sideswiped. Funny, I think he thought I was too proper to ask out before that, so in this case it worked out well for me.

I voted "other" because when I went into my workplace, I didn't swear, and it was a hotbed of curse words every single day. My boss set the precedent by frequently dropping the f-bomb at staff meetings and all the language made me very uncomfortable at first. I still think it's unprofessional unless it's in a casual conversation with a co-worker, but I came out of that job cursing a blue streak. I don't really have a problem with occasional usage in real life at all, but it makes me uncomfortable in a workplace.

I work in restaurant and swearing is obviously something you don't do in front of customers, but in the back, hell yeah we swear. lol

I feel privileged to work in an environment where terms like "d-bag" and "WTF!" are not only allowed, but clearly necessary.

SoCalSugar - what field do you work in? Politics?

I work for my mother so being able to tell my boss to f*ck off (in a joking way) once in a while is very funny and maybe relieves sone tension. it's a small business so I only have 2 co workers and sometimes we let a curse word slip here or there because things are very casual. HOwever, If it was in a more serious workplace with more people, i might feel inappropriate swearing because I wouldnt know how every single person felt about the issue and I wouldnt want to alienate myself from coworkers. I have no problem with swearing, it is just a word, but some people are against it. I dont understand their view but Ill try to respect it.

I don't have a job right now, but if I did i think I might feel unprofessional swearing, even though I do it all the time lol.

Does everyone in the world work in an office?! No. So why is everything about offices?

we swear on my immediate team. i work with 3 guys- and they swear sometimes- usually after they hang up with a pain in the butt client! i try not to swear as much cause i'm junior but everyonce in a while i let a curse slip out- the guys don't care though! they did ask me when i first started working with them if i was offended by it, which was nice, but i am not so ever since then they let the swears fly! i curse like a sailor at home though. i'm bad.

Work or not, I'm just not comfortable with swearing. I've been known to throw around a few words if I'm particularly annoyed, but I really try to avoid it. I'd hate it if swearing was a staple at my job.

I have what I think is a great balance. I rarely swear on normal occasions, because that way when I get mad and start swearing, it actually has a huge affect and people pay attention.

i've got a filthy mouth, but i know when it makes people uncomfortable or when its inappropriate and i control it. but around my close friends it gets really out of hand.

I pick "other" because I don't swear at work all the time (very little, in fact) but there are occasions where it's okay. Like at lunch when I'm sitting around with the co-workers b*tching about the boss. Or when there's a deadline and tensions are running high (and even then it's not like I'd cuss out my co-workers. I might just drop some F-bombs at the crappy computer if it crashes on me, and people kind of chuckle about it in a "yeah, I totally get that" kind of way, and that releases some stress).

People tend to look amazed when I swear, because I don't do it often, and I look like such a sweet little girl. Haha.

For some reason I love to swear around kids. I suddenly turn into a sailor when I'm at some kind of gathering, relatives and family friends come over to visit with their little tots, and I'm left alone with the kidlets. Hey, they're going to learn those words eventually! Good thing I don't work with kids.

If you've mistakenly stapled your hand or got a really bad paper cut (like I did once) its okay to let a curse word or two slip. But to use it everyday? Totally unprofessional!

hahaha i've let out a choice word here and there, but to myself and not outloud. usually it's if i bang my kneee or get a paper cut, but to use foul language at work?? i don't think that's appropriate. I have a friend who can't go through a conversation without dropping a few f-bombs. i think sounds slightly uneducated when you use them frequently because basically you're substituting those "bad words" with a more conversational-friendly word.

I work at a family owned business and we usually try to refrain from swearing in front of the owners out of respect. They let something slip every once in a while, as well as everyone else.. but generally it's a no-no. In the shop area on the other hand, it's no telling what kinda words are flying thru the air!