If we always talked about work and sensible topics in the workplace life would be very boring, often discussion can move onto tangents and personal issues become the central theme in the office or workplace, but there are some things your boss doesn’t want to hear you saying. Be on the safe side, and read this list of six things your boss really doesn’t want to hear!
#1 “But it’s not my job.”
If you’re asked to do something that you deem beneath you, or not part of your job description, keep it to yourself. If you vocalise this you are just telling your boss that you aren’t a team player, consider yourself above working hard and won’t make a good candidate for working your way up the ladder. Be sure to voice your concerns if you feel like your boss is taking advantage of you and making you do things that distract you from your original job description, but make sure you don’t phrase it in a way that makes you seem ungrateful.
#2 “It’s not my fault!”
If something goes wrong in your department or under your watch, the last thing your boss wants is everybody playing the blame game. Own up to whatever responsibility you have, and say things like to be fair if I had done x this probably wouldn’t have happened, your boss will look favourably on you for being honest and being mature about the incident will make you seem like a good leader.
#3 “Have you heard about Karen from accounting?”
Your boss doesn’t want to walk in and hear you either discussing things that happened outside of work with your co-workers or gossiping about them. It makes you seem petty and untrustworthy, and will prove that co-worker relations aren’t very good as well as making your boss think you haven’t got enough work to get on with. Gossiping about work issues will also make your boss think you aren’t responsible enough to handle matters in a mature way, and will generally make them stay away from you.
#4 “Did you see my Snapchat story?”
There are tonnes of jobs that require you to spend all day on various social media accounts, but even those bosses don’t want to hear their employees talking about who unfollowed you on Twitter and what your hot co-worker sent you on Snapchat. Don’t start following employers and fellow employees on social media if you don’t know them well enough to make it okay, it can get messy and is quite an invasion of their privacy.
#5 “I can’t do it.”
Before you declare you can’t do something decide whether you can’t or won’t. Your boss can probably tell which it is before you’ve even finished explaining, and will look negatively on people who come up with excuses and don’t try. Of course you aren’t expected to do something impossible, but often if you approach a co-worker or simply ask your boss how to get around any problems or issues that have arisen you will find a way to get the task done!
#6 “At my old job…”
Unless you have something genuinely insightful to say, spare your boss stories about your old job. Particularly if you’re telling him how something was done at your previous place of employment. Your boss has probably heard thousands of variations of this story, and also it might alert them that you think of your old job fondly and aren’t secure in your current one.
It’s better to save your funny, rude and personal conversations until lunchtime and try not to be within earshot of anyone who might look at you unfavourably if they heard what you had to say. Follow CGD on Facebook and Bloglovin if you want more career, fashion, lifestyle and beauty tips for busy, entrepreneurial girls like you!