Accidental bad language at work

[Anxiousgirl9619]

I will admit I do curse and have a bit of a sailor mouth but I try to keep that strictly out of office as I know it's unprofessional and can be offensive to some.

Today, however, there was a loud bang in the office caused by another staff member which really frightened me as it was really out of the blue and my response was "fucking hell" followed by a joke after to let people know I wasn't annoyed or anything just my instant reaction to the sound.

Do you think I'm just over reacting being worried about this?

Any tips on how to prevent this happening in future?

Thanks

I’d have forgotten about it 10 seconds after it escaped my mouth. Why tie yourself in knots? Is there a pathetic member of staff in your office who is likely to run to HR with their hand in the air shouting Miss, Miss, Anxious Girl said a bad word and my feelings are hurt? No? Forget about it then and do your work x

Totally depends I think on your office & team. It wouldn’t be an issue whatsoever where I work currently, but in my last office I know of at least 3 people who would have taken offence and reported to management.

Forget it. Fuck me, you should have worked with us in the 80s x

I hear the f bomb in meetings occasionally. I certainly wouldn’t think twice about it coming from someone who had a shock.

I wouldn’t have given this a second thought - in that kind of situation it’s more of a reflex than anything else.

As long as you’re not swearing at people or in a rude way I think it’s fine. E.g. “fucking hell that made me jump” = fine. “Sandra don't be such a fucking butterfingers” = not fine

i remember a court case in the pandemic years where someone was found guilty of workplace discrimination for calling someone a “fucking bald cunt” - apparently the fact that they brought the “bald” into it was where the line was crossed. I laughed about that for days

Even if it wasn't acceptable to swear in your workplace, in those circumstances it's unlikely you'd get more than a little nudge over it.