Hi Donna,
It is good that your boss was positive towards your ideas. But most of my experiences have not been the same. It comes down to the fact that we cannot maintain anything the way we like to. So don’t be disheartened if things go wrong.
Negative words and deeds was a problem I encountered especially in work places, and it is most often considered part and parcel of work life. I consider myself a passive individual and did not believe in backbiting and sucking up of any sort. However a couple of years in the competitive corporate world and I came to realize (and was even told / warned by others) that I will not go far if I am passive. So I consciously changed my ways to become more assertive and playing the corporate game (backbiting, gossiping, sucking up). I knew this was not my real self but that I needed to do it in order to get ahead, so I considered it part of work.
Circumstances changed and I changed jobs and also came across this site and other related content. I came to realize how foolish I was and what a lot of akusala kamma I was collecting, while trying to “move up” in work and life.
I don’t have any ambitions in the work place anymore and hence I don’t need to do all that gossiping and slandering that is considered part of work. Some think that I am being passive, foolish etc. But since I am just doing my job to earn some money without wanting get ahead, I don’t see the need to do all this vaci sankara. Of course it is not easy to refrain from it all because I have been in that competitive environment for sometime. But I do feel much less stressful this way.
Just my thoughts and experiences,
Akvan