How to Say No at Work (Avoid Burnout)
Are you just saying 'yes' to everything that gets dropped on you at work?
I grew up in a culture of never saying no to your elders. Saying no was always seen as being impolite and ungrateful.
So when I started working in corporate America... I would take on anything that gets dropped on me.
For years, my inability to say NO had caused me to...
Burn out
Stay stuck in my career
Become unmotivated at work
The Inability to Say No
Years later, I finally gained the confidence to say no to my boss without feeling uncomfortable.
When I politely said no to my boss for a new project assignment, he went to ask a different designer, who was as equally overwhelmed as I was.
She, as a shy person who could never say no, accepted the assignment.
As close friends, I told her that she needed to stand her ground.
But she wasn’t able to bring herself to say no, so she ended up working more overtime.
I realized a lot of architects have a hard time saying no even if they’re already working too much.
Maybe it’s hardwired in us to meet every deadline. Or it’s our sense of responsibility to do everything we can in the name of architecture.
Saying no doesn’t mean you’re being irresponsible. It’s actually more responsible for you to have the self-awareness to recognize when enough is enough.
But there is an art to this — you’re not going to just yell at your boss NO.
Here are 3 tips to keep in mind when you’re saying no at work:
1 - Be Positive
Even though saying no seems negative, you do want to focus on the positive.
You don’t want to be known as the nay-sayer and constantly complain about how busy you are.
For example:
To your coworker: “That sounds so exciting, but I’ll have to wait til next time since I have a deadline coming up for my project right now."
To your boss: “Thank you for thinking of me. This seems like a great project. But I really can’t take on more work right now."
To your client: “We’re very excited to share our latest design with you! But in order to have a more comprehensive design approach, we’ll need to push the deadline to [Date].”
2 - Focus on the Benefits
Why is better for you to focus on what you’re doing and not take on more projects? Is it better for the project to stay on schedule? Would you be able to produce higher-quality work?
Explain why it’d be more beneficial for them by you saying no.
For example:
To your coworker: “I can focus on this and do my best if we can wait 2 weeks until I finish my deadline for this other project.”
To your boss: “If I take this new project on, I would need more help on my current project to keep the client happy and keep the project on schedule.”
To your client: “This seems like a good idea, but you’ll be able to stay on budget if we do it this other way.”
3 - Be Helpful
If you want to be a team player, try to offer an alternative. Maybe you can help find someone else to do the work. Or you will free up in the future to take on more work.
This shows that you want to be helpful while still setting your own boundaries.
For example:
To your boss: “I can’t take on more work at this moment. But I can see if someone else is available to help.”
To your coworker: "I'm really busy with my tasks right now. But I should have more time by the end of the week if you still need help by then.”
To your client: “The team is at full capacity to get the CD set out. How about we incorporate these changes after it’s done as an addendum?”
Extra Tip: You can also ask your boss to help prioritize your tasks if you’re juggling too much. True leaders know how to set priorities to do what’s best for both the company and the team.
Now It’s Your Turn
This is not to say you should just say no to everything.
Sometimes, we do need to go that extra mile if we want to push our careers forward.
But if you’re feeling overwhelmed at work and don’t know how to say no, I hope this was helpful to get you setting some boundaries.
Reply back and let me know - Have you struggled to say no at work?
Always cheering you on,
Joann
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