Saying no at work is a tough thing to do in any line of work. You don’t want to offend your co-workers, or worse, upset your boss. However, there are effective ways to say no and not come off rude or uncooperative.
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Saying No at Work:
- 🤐 Straightforward - The best (and often most difficult) approach is the straightforward “no,” rather than a wishy-washy response. Just make sure you’re polite.
- 😶🌫️ Alternatives - An easy way to say no and still be a team player is to offer an alternative. For example, say no, but offer to help (or work on it) later when your workload has decreased.
- 😮💨 Reasonable - Be prepared to give a reason, rather than (and this is important) an excuse, as to why you’re saying no. It helps the other person see your point of view and respond rationally.
- 🫥 OOO - If you’re on vacation or you’re sick, don’t respond to emails or phone calls. Let your Out of Office reply do the work for you. And if you’re even thinking about looking at your work email while you’re on vacation, it’s time to have a talk with yourself.
- 😵💫 Positivity - Lead with a sincere and positive response. Thank them for thinking enough of your abilities, for example. Go straight up Mary Poppins and give them a spoonful of sugar.
🔥Bottom line: When my boss first assigned this story, I told him to stick it. After I recovered from the beating (I never knew getting repeatedly hit with a banjo would hurt so badly), I discovered there was a better way to turn him down. My bad.
How do you say no?
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