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How to Say No to Your Boss
A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
I recently spoke with an employee who was unhappy with his boss. This employee was overwhelmed with the amount of work he had to do because his boss kept adding additional responsibilities outside of his job description. This employee wished his boss would either do the additional work himself, or train the employee so he felt competent in doing the additional work. Ultimately, the employee felt that the boss did not think the employee's work was important enough so the boss kept adding more work to do.
What is an employee to do in this situation? While the economy is improving, the job market still feels uncertain, and the thought of saying "no" to your boss seems like job suicide. But, if you continue doing the work of several employees without proper training, and you are not doing any of the jobs well because of the overload, the quality of your work and your health will suffer.
If you are this overwhelmed employee that is headed for burnout, try these tips to gain the confidence to say "no" to your boss:
- Do you homework. Begin by logging the time it currently takes to do the work you were originally assigned to do. Assign a priority to each task as you understand the importance of that task.
- Never tell your boss that the new task is not in your job description! While this may seem like the logical thing to say, this would be known in the military as a CLM or career limiting move. Boss's know they need job descriptions for job clarification but they do not want an employee to expect that they will be held only to the job description.
- Never tell your boss "no" to the new task but rather respectfully and courteously show your time log that your prepared and the prioritization that you understand your current work needs to take. Then, ask your boss if this prioritization is correct, and if not, what items should go off the list to make room for the new work assigned. You are really bringing to your boss's attention all of the things you are doing and having your boss decide which is most important. Bosses often forget how much work their employees are doing and how often they ask them to take on additional work.
- Ask for training. If your boss decides one of the new assigned tasks is most important, and you do not feel qualified, simply state that you will need additional training to do quality work with that task. Do not be afraid to ask for help and the ideal time is when you are just beginning the task.
If you are a boss that has the tendency to forget how much work your employees are currently doing and you like to get things off your "to do"list by dumping on others try these reminder tips:
- Before assigning new work, think through who is best qualified to do this new task and has the time to do it well?
- If you only have someone who is partially skilled in the new task ask yourself what additional skills and knowledge they need to do the job well? How long do you estimate it will take this employee to get up-to-speed with the new task?
- Meet with the ideal employee and ask them how competent they feel they are in the task. Offer training and help to reprioritize their work and/or get rid of tasks that are less important.
Call to Action:
If you are an overwhelmed employee that needs to take their life back, take action now before the quality of your work suffers and your health deteriorates.
If you are a boss that likes to dump work on others, remember that an employee that asks for work prioritization is one that cares about the quality of their work and takes full responsibility for the work they have been assigned.
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