Human Resource Knowledge

Saying NO at workplace politely

There may be several occasions for any one at work place when his or her boss or superiors or even peers or subordinates approaching you with work or any other request when you just wish you could suddenly vanish, crawl under your table or hold a signboard that read ‘NO’. We know your plate is already more than full, but that is not going to deter your boss from handling out more work. And we bet, you are too scared to take recourse to the magic word that can put an end to all your woes. So we tell you how to say it without offending anyone:

1. I’m not inspired enough. Well, if you are not inspired, you can’t possibly do a good job. Inspiration should be the driving force behind every task you undertake, and you need to make your colleagues realize that. After all, if your heart and soul aren’t in the job, it can be quite hazardous for the company.
2. Right now I’m working on blah blah blah, can I get so-and-so to help me with it? As soon as you have your boss’ permission, you can happily brief your colleague on the task at hand and get back to what you were doing.
3. Sure, but I won’t be able to meet the deadline. Will cross it by xxx (whatever seems unreasonable in light of the task.) No one is going to let you work on a project indefinitely. In today’s competitive world, everything works on deadlines. If you are going to be taking your own sweet time to complete a task, you might as well not do it. Moreover, no boss is going to let you lay your hands on a job that might never be completed.
4. You will have to pay me overtime. Well, you can’t try this with your boss, but there’s no harm pulling it off with a colleague. Say it as though you are cracking a joke. A good sense of humor is the best way of wriggling out of difficult situations.
5. I would love to do it, but frankly you (or name some other colleague) would do more justice to this job. You better have a great reason for saying this, though figuring out one shouldn’t be that hard. Stress on why the person assigning you the job/your colleagues is a fantastic team person and superb at ‘this’ aspect of the job. Praise him/her sky high and you will have one more friend in office.

When we talk o the tact above it also goes with coping with office politics:

For most of us, politics means conniving and backstabbing. And when it enters the office atmosphere, it can be pretty stifling. But it is human tendency to form ‘gangs’ and ‘groups’. One can see it even in kindergarten.

So what is it that makes office politics so unsavory? Essentially when one encourages ‘politics’ in the organization, s/he creates an air of secrecy. Sometimes vital information could be withheld from other members of the team which affects productivity. The senior management ends up spending a lot of time and energy in resolving issues created by office politics, which in turn affects the overall performance of the firm. Many employees prefer to quit the organization rather than coping with tension, and this way the firm loses its valued employees. No matter how amiable any office may be, there would always be undercurrents of politics. So, it is best to learn to deal with it positively. Here are some coping mechanisms to manage office politics:
Never share personal details: Never reveal the exact details of your pay or perks package, this could create a feeling of animosity amongst other colleagues who earn less as compared to you and this may encourage them to gang up against you.

Do not isolate, join the group gossiping, but never participate in the gossip or make any comments or react to the talk or take sides.

Labels: General

posted by Paresh @ 10:00 PM