You’re often told that in order to get ahead at work you have to be the first one in and the last one to leave. You have to be energetic, positive, and always ready to say yes to a new assignment. As long as you don’t get burnt out or end up with a to-do list that is a mile long, that’s good advice. But there are certain instances when it’s actually in your best interest to say no at work.
“Being a team player is usually considered a valuable employee trait, but sometimes workers are too cooperative, and on occasion that can actually be harmful,” says Timothy Wiedman, a retired associate professor of management and human resources at Doane University. It could mean you take on too many assignments, projects you don’t have the skills for yet, or get slammed with all the last-minute requests that everyone else declines.
“In most work environments, a person who cannot say no will likely end up carrying a disproportionate share of the workload,” Wiedman says. “And an agreeable but overburdened team member may start missing deadlines or produce sub-standard work.”
The key to saying no at work is to say it sparingly, especially when you’re just starting out in your career. You also need to make it known that you have a good reason for saying no, not that it’s simply that you don’t want to do the work or would much prefer to go home or join your co-workers for happy hour.
Here are three instances when saying no at work is appropriate and how to do it without damaging your reputation.
Read the rest of my article on Monster!
