LAUSR

A secret involves the intentional and deliberate concealment of information from a person and consists of information that individuals actively and consciously withhold from at least one other individual (Frijns & Finkenauer, 2009; Kelly & Yuan, 2009). By sharing information the notion of a confidant is implied, the information is confidential and should be held between those involved – be it two or sometimes more people (Frijns & Finkenauer, 2009). Concealment of information is part of everyday life and may involve family, friends, peers, and colleagues. Secrecy occurs in public and private situations including the workplace (Rappert, 2010). Critically, the way in which secrets or information is held and used impacts the individuals sharing the secret as well as others the secret may be about (such as a perpetrator of abuse), involve (a peer, colleague or manager, or a client) or impact (family, friends, relationships, the workplace or organization) (Rappert, 2010). This column reflects on the nature of secrets, and the reasons for keeping a secret. One type of secret is called an open secret. This is defined “as unarticulated knowledge that everybody who is party of a transaction knows about but that no one discusses in a direct way” (Ledeneva, 2011, p. 725). This is what we may colloquially refer to as “the elephant in the room” – where we may perceive there is no secret because everyone knows what the information is but it is not discussed openly. However, adopting this view may be problematic as not everyone may have privilege to all of the information/the big picture or the ramifications of the information at different levels (Ledeneva, 2011). Open secrets are not necessarily disclosed in official contexts but are considered “open” because insiders have knowledge of them whereas outsiders may (or may not) need to be made aware of them (Ledeneva, 2011). Open secrets can be problematic as the secret holders try to maintain a degree of containment as they know that full public disclosure could be harmful to those or the organization they are endeavoring to shield. This can also be problematic when balancing organizational or situational formalities and informal practices (Ledeneva, 2011).