How to Say No to Your Boss without Hurting Your Career
First, check out this clever gif. It’s what your boss wants to do to your response when you say no.
It can be risky to say no when your boss tries to add to your already overflowing workload. You could damage your relationship with your boss or hurt your career. Goodbye, future! Then again, adding to your work overload poses other risks, such as interminable hours, fatigue, lost productivity, and a dwindling personal life.
Ultimately, you’re the one who suffers if you say yes when your plate is already piled high and spilling over. Nevertheless, many people have a case of yes-icide: the self-sabotaging tendency to say yes in order to please the boss or avoid a confrontation rather than facing the need to say no and just saying it.
When your boss asks you to take on additional work (or simply foists it off on you), don’t respond immediately. Take a few minutes to think about the assignment. Is it as big as you first envisioned it? What are your existing priorities? How does this new assignment relate to these priorities? Why is it needed? How much time and effort is it likely to take? Might there be some long-term benefit to you, your team, or your organization in taking on the work? Does it have a tight deadline?
If, after considering such questions, you feel a strong need to say no, don’t say you’re too busy or stretched too thin, even if that’s the case. Everybody is too busy; don’t risk coming across as a whiner. It is, however, OK to point out how busy you are and ask for help in reviewing your priorities.
In saying no, focus on the facts: the work you’re already doing, the time it takes, the challenges it poses, its benefits for the team or project, and the impact on that work if you take on even more. That way, you’re being objective. Your boss may back off or swap out some existing work so you can take on the new assignment.
Before you say no, prepare your response and perhaps even rehearse it so you sound confident when you present it. Consider questions the boss might raise and how you might answer them. If possible, come up with an alternative solution, such as someone else who may be able to tackle the assignment sooner or better than you.
Of course, it helps your case if you’ve already developed a reputation as a hard worker. That reputation will make it obvious that you’re not averse to taking on a full load. Remember, though, that every time you say no, you’re ruling out saying it again any time soon. Say no too often and that well-deserved reputation for giving your job your all could quickly morph into a reputation as a work shirker.
