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You speak English at the office, but you habla español en la casa. Should your bilingualism be left at the door? Should you NOT take a personal call at your desk from your mom who only speaks Spanish? What about saying "buenos días" to a fellow Spanish-speaking coworker?

DiversityInc spoke to leaders from Latino professional groups for their best advice on speaking Spanish in the office and how it can affect your daily professional life.

For more information on successful workplace communications, go to DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

Etiquette

Make sure you're not alienating coworkers—be aware of your surroundings and make an assessment of the vibe in the office. Coworkers' body language and comments may make it clear if they are uncomfortable with you speaking Spanish in the office.

Jim Huerta, president emeritus of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), advises you to mind your manners. "I think that what prevails is be courteous in a public setting, whether it's professional or social," he says. "[So] if you're going to speak a foreign language, you should know who's in attendance, who's in your surroundings and what environment you're in."

Andrea Sáenz, executive director of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE), adds, "It all depends on circumstances: who else is in the room and are you going to make someone feel excluded. It's the same courtesy you would extend in a highly technical field if you wanted to speak to a colleague about something that was over someone else's head and they had to sit through that."

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Personal Calls

Once you discover fellow Spanish speakers or Latinos in the office, it may seem natural to bond over a common language and culture, but you have to be aware of the length and frequency of your conversations.

"One can acknowledge a coworker as Spanish speaker with a greeting but then should revert to English so that no one is excluded," says Manny Espinoza, CEO of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA). "It can definitely be perceived as rude, so it is better to err on the side of common courtesy."

Taking a phone call in Spanish or any non-English language can also be a touchy area. As with any personal call that comes in during a meeting, it's best to excuse yourself and take it privately so as not to disrupt others. If stepping out seems rude, you can always briefly explain that the call had to be conducted in Spanish.

However, personal calls taken at your desk are a different case. The general rule for those types of calls in the office is to keep it as brief as possible. But, unlike when you are in meetings with coworkers, you should feel reasonably free speaking Spanish in your "personal" space (e.g., your cubicle).

"A personal call is not going to be about information the office would need to know about, so there should be no misperception about what is being said," says Espinoza.

Sáenz agrees, saying, "If the nature of the call is personal, people don't need to understand what you're talking about [such as] when you're talking to your mother. So if you want to speak to your mother in Spanish because it's the language that she prefers, I think that's fine."

But what if some of your coworkers are wary that you're talking about them or situations in the office? Just be aware of how you use your Spanish on calls. Zenaida Avelar Mendoza, ALPFA's national vice president of marketing and branding, warns, "Switching to Spanish midstream in a conversation can look like you are hiding something. It can cause the wrong impression."

The Sensitivity of Your Strength

Each case you encounter with Spanish-speaking is unique, but when in doubt, revert to common sense and basic professional savvy. "I can't emphasize enough about how important it is to be aware of how you're being perceived," urges Sáenz. "Be aware of how your communication with others is being perceived by people you may not even be talking to but have some influence in how you're perceived by your supervisor or people in positions of leadership that could affect your career."

Always remember that your language ability is a talent and a skill, so revere this as such. Huerta suggests balancing your assets to assure a positive outcome. "If you take the approach that because [you speak] Spanish that you can advocate your culture at the expense of isolating others that do not [speak Spanish], it could very well work against you," he says.

Huerta adds, "Use your strengths wisely, including the ability to communicate in multiple languages. Remember, we're a melting pot of many different cultures, and [if] what is your benefit today is mistreated, it could be your weakness some day in the future."

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