THINGS NEVER TO SAY TO YOUR BOSS
Psychologist Dr Pam Spurr helps you to tread safely through the minefield of office politics
In most modern offices people work long hours in a close team. In such environments it’s easy to become over-familiar and talk about the sorts of things we once kept under wraps.
If you are chatting to a colleague about every gory detail of your private life, don’t forget to draw the line when the boss passes or joins the conversation.
Your bosses may dress casually and act like a friend but never forget that to some extent they hold the key to your future.
Below are seven things you should never say to your boss. On the surface they might appear innocuous but there’s a chance your boss may pick up a different meaning from what you intended and assume what you say is a reflection on their skills as a manager or even their personality.
Thank God it’s Friday
Showing absolute delight that your working week has come to an end will definitely not score you brownie points. No boss wants to think you hate your job and can’t stand being there.
However, there’s nothing wrong with chatting about the plans you’ve made for the weekend. Simply stifle that huge grin as you run out of the door.
Likewise, after partying all weekend don’t let your boss overhear you talking about your Monday morning hangover.
In my last job we always did X, Y, or Z
Your last company might have had the perfect accounting system or fantastic staff incentive schemes but it’s best not to mention them in the context of your new job.
Your boss may assume you’re making an unfavourable comparison rather than trying to improve things in your current job. Present any ideas at a relevant meeting without reference to your old job.
Or pop them into the company suggestion box – that’s what it’s there for.
Chatting on myspace/Friends Reunited, etc, is such fun
If your boss hears this, he will think you mess around on these websites all day when you should be working.
He might also decide to check up on the sort of things you say on the Net and may not be impressed with your proud boasts about drunken antics.
Have you heard, Penny from Personnel drinks too much and Andy in Accounts is having an affair?
You may think it’s harmless to gossip with colleagues about others but when you say such things to your boss, it sounds snide. It reflects badly on you rather than the person you’re talking about.
Never discuss such rumours with your boss and only ever call into question a fellow employee’s behaviour that affects you or company business in a professional manner.
I’ve just bought a flat-screen TV/designer handbag/holiday home
You never want your boss to think you’re over-paid. And if he hears you discussing your latest luxury purchase, he might think just that. You don’t want to scupper your plans to ask for a pay rise or more perks because he thinks you’re doing well enough already.
You should consider my sister for that job
Unless you’re in exceptional circumstances, nepotism is often frowned upon in the workplace. It puts undue pressure on your employer to hire someone because they’re connected to you.
Bosses will resent added pressures of a personal nature when they may already have all sorts of other stresses in their job. Of course, it can backfire, too, if the relation you’ve recommended is a disaster in the job.
I knew my way would work – or anything else that points out your boss was wrong or less clever than you
When you’ve been proved right or have corrected a mistake your boss made, it’s important to be tactful. Never rub their noses in it. They are human after all, even if they are a thick-skinned David Brent-type. Also, when the boss’s pride is hurt, he’s likely to take it out on you at the next opportunity.
In a nutshell: Pause before you gossip, don't sound boastful or careless, or say anything that might undermine your boss.
● Dr Pam Spurr is the author of life coaching guide Sex, Guys And Chocolate – Your Essential Guide to Lust, Love And Life (Robson Books, £6.99).
THINGS NEVER TO SAY TO YOUR BOSS
09.05.07, 10:27pm
That people have to be taught how to behave at work these days just confirms my thoughts of this generation.
I have long suspected that bosses and employees today have very little, if any, courtesy at all - each for the other. Thankfully I am not an employee these days.
I have, in my time, said quite a few things to my bosses (they who paid my salary as well as my managers) for the stupid stunts they pulled and have never been dismissed because I knew how far to go and when to stop.
But we had employers who knew they were not perfect and who could take being 'ticked off' and they were human too. They also knew how to treat their staff.
• Posted by: Schmuel • Report Comment
THINGS NEVER TO SAY TO YOUR BOSS ETC.
09.05.07, 2:58pm
Actions too can send messages. For years I was in minor management in a corporation. Upper management fell over themselves tring to impress the big boss. I saw gifts flowing,surprise birthday or "any ecuse to have one parties". Each manager anzious to make an impression with their indulgences. All the years until I retired managers came and leftin with alarming rapidity. Each one I am sure shocked and wondering.. I preferred to keep a low profile, slipping into the woodwork after meetings and getting on with my job.My boss was great. She noticed my grief and comforted me when my dog died. sharing with me her love for her own dogs. She listened to me when I had input and followed through if she agreed. I never gave her gifts, nor did I share shippets from my private life,but I outlasted a small army of over zealous managers! The Director and I retired the same day!
• Posted by: Elizabeth • Report Comment
WHAT NOT TO SAY TO THE BOSS.
07.05.07, 10:34pm
Many mistakes are made at the end of year Xmas Parties. the number of people who have a few drinks, then try to be the 'life and soul' of the party by dancing on tables, or taking their clothes off, does not go down a bundle. Other folks often get into thieir minds about how to advise the Boss on their 'managerial abilites', how to 'run the company'... or... advice on their ancestry etc. Again, not the best things to say to the Boss. However some of them can be quite hilarious, and no doubt many a Boss has taken this with a pinch of salt in view of the states some people get themselves into. One person I heard about was not "quite the ticket", and used to bring bushes and tree branches into work and tell the Boss that she had to 'Hug a "Tree" each day to keep the World turning on its axis!!! Needless to say, this person did not stay very long!!
• Posted by: Uncle_Vanya • Report Comment
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