Bad working atmosphere and belittling one's own work - there are a few sentences that should be avoided in the workplace or phrased in a more positive way.
Some sayings have become so firmly established in the working vocabulary that many employees hardly think about them anymore.
Certain statements make you look listless, rude or even lazy.
In addition, the statements often do not come across as they might have been meant.
Psychologist and career expert Pia Dominique Schweitzer therefore explained to the
world
which sayings are better avoided at work.
There are also some sentences for superiors that should better not be said.
Reduces your own impact: "Stupid question, but..."
Anyone who begins their sentence with "Stupid idea, but..." or "Stupid question, but..." usually achieves only one thing: namely, not being taken seriously.
With such an entry you make yourself and your opinion smaller and what is said is also usually given less weight.
Career expert Schweitzer recommends formulations such as "What do you think of ..." or "How about ...".
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The high horse: "That's not one of my jobs"
It happens again and again that you are confronted with tasks that are not in your area.
Of course you have to make sure that you don't burden yourself with too much and a no is also acceptable.
But it depends on the choice of words: "That's not part of my job" or "It's not my responsibility" quickly comes across as arrogant.
According to the expert, it is better to make a counter-proposal.
You might be able to offer your help later or explain why it's not possible right now.
It is also possible to forward it to a colleague – if you know that they still have capacity.
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Especially in meetings and appointments, it is important to radiate competence.
Certain sentences make this difficult because the speaker may keep himself small.
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© Josep Suria/Imago
By the way: You can often tell from four signs whether you are overwhelmed at work.
Why "no problem" is a problem
For many people, "no problem" is one of the responses to a thank you note.
Here Schweitzer means that you can quickly come across as arrogant with this statement, because it was obviously a problem for the other person, but not for you.
If "no problem" is the answer to the question of whether a task can be taken on, one should also be more careful in the future.
The career expert explains to the
world
, that you come across as a yes man so quickly.
In her opinion, it is important to set limits, otherwise you all too quickly come across as someone “with whom you can do whatever you want.” In addition, with many tasks it is not possible to assess whether the fulfillment will really be so easy.
So the simple "You're welcome" is better here as an answer to the thanks.
In the case of tasks, you should first get all the facts before accepting.
Lack of assertiveness: "I think..."
"I think you could ..." - actually you just want to express your own opinion with such a sentence.
But instead there is a risk that you will appear know-it-all or less assertive.
Pay attention to whether and when you introduce sentences like this and try to formulate the sentence in a more challenging way.
Maybe with introductions like "What do you think of ..." or "I see it that way ... what do you think?"
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"I don't know" sends the wrong message
Not knowing everything is human and perfectly fine.
However, "I don't know" sends the message that you have not prepared well enough or that it is not important for you to deal with a topic.
According to Schweitzer, one formulation is almost even more fatal: "But it would be even worse than saying 'I don't know' to answer 'I think ...' without really having a clue." Her suggestion in such cases is adjournment , for example with the sentence: “I have to check that again.
I'll get back to you tomorrow with the info." So, following the expert's example, one admits one's ignorance, but also shows that one is willing to invest time and also that one does not want to pass on any half-truths.
This in turn shows honesty, reliability and competence.
List of rubrics: © Josep Suria/Imago