20 things you should never say at work

It’s been said that words are like weapons, and at work those weapons can easily backfire. Saying the wrong thing can make you look weak, indecisive, insensitive and incompetent in front of everyone, from your boss and your clients to your co-workers and competitors. To avoid undermining both your workplace popularity and career prospects, avoid the 20 phrases that follow.

1. That won’t work.
“Shutting down ideas without trying them is definitely not the mark of a winner,” blogs Bernard Marr, a bestselling author and strategic advisor on strategy, digital transformation and business performance. If an idea didn’t work in the past, trying it again can achieve several things: one, it gives it a chance to succeed under different circumstances; two, it may help reveal how a problem has changed over time; and three, knowing more about what doesn’t work can help reveal what will. Fact is, you won’t know any of this unless you try.

2. You’re overthinking this.
Ross McCammon, the author of Works Well with Others: An Outsider's Guide to Shaking Hands, Shutting Up, Handling Jerks, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No One Ever Teaches You, writes that he would like to ban this expression from each and every workplace. Why? “It punishes people for caring, for trying to make something great,” he explains in his book. “I think that people who accuse other people of overthinking just don’t feel like thinking.”

3. This has to work.
Not necessarily, says Adam Kreek, a management consultant, executive coach, and author of The Responsibility Ethic: 12 Winning Strategies to Power Lasting Success and Happiness.
Failure is a part of work and life, after all, and you are going to fail at one point or another. “Learning from failure often leads to victory, as success and failure are different sides of the same coin. You can be someone who has failed, just not a failure.”

4. I haven’t had the time.
There’s a good chance your boss will see right through this phrase, writes Atle Skalleberg, Flight Centre Travel Group’s Global Chief Digital Officer, in a LinkedIn post. “More often than not this is simply not true,” he writes. “Normally it’s either a) you technically could have found the time (so you had it), but didn’t feel like spending that time doing it; b) you didn’t manage your work-time very well; or c) you forgot.” If you genuinely have not had the time, Skalleberg adds, it’s better to explain when work will be completed and provide reasons for the delay.

5. It’s not fair.
The Workopolis job search website singles out this immature complaint. Even if you are being mistreated, it’s much more constructive to assemble the facts, meet with your manager and discuss the issue. “Focus on how this issue is affecting your performance and job satisfaction,” the website suggests.

6. I can’t do it.
You were hired to get things done. “If you can’t do it,” Marr writes, “chances are they’ll find someone else who can.” Instead of giving up, be proactive about what you need to accomplish the task, such as training, support, supplies, and so on. At the very least you’ll get an “A” for effort.

7. I’m sorry.
Apologies, McCammon writes, are fine for our personal lives. At work, however, “acknowledging the problem and saying how you will correct it is a lot more professionally valuable.” Instead of “sorry,” go with something like, “I understand this was wrong, and it won’t happen again,” he suggests.

8. It’s not my job/responsibility.
Managers cringe when they hear these words. While your boss may be trying to take advantage of you, being asked to venture outside your job description often happens because he or she believes you can get the job done. “It is, in a sense, a challenge,” the Workopolis website says, “and if you respond with ‘it’s not my job,’ you’re letting them know that you’re not up to that challenge (and, in some cases, not a team player).”

9. It’s not my fault.
There are no winners in the “blame game.” Even if something really isn’t your fault, Marr points out, “this phrase assumes that you’re laying the blame somewhere else. Instead of focusing on blame, focus on solving the problem. How can you step in and make things right—even if you weren’t the one in the wrong?”

10. But I sent it in an email a week ago.
Excuses, excuses. It’s important to ensure that your co-workers have the information they need to do their jobs, and this requires following up in person, with a phone call, or a confirmation email. As the person sending that info, you are responsible for it, Skalleberg writes. “Letting something or someone fail because you have ‘an out’ is common, but not something great people do.”

11. This stress is killing me!
Kreek likens work to a series of sprints and recoveries in which stress can be a positive force that makes you stronger. A statement like this shows you are unable to channel stress in a productive way.

12. It is what it is.
This throwaway line is a sign of laziness that does nothing to help resolve, or even describe, a workplace situation. “We must all resolve to stop saying this,” McCammon writes. “It means nothing.”

13. This is easy.
Not everything has to be easy to be worth doing, Skalleberg writes. “If you convince me that it’s worth doing, I’ll do it. Very few things take five minutes, certainly not things worth doing.”

14. I'm late because...
Less is more when it comes to workplace tardiness, McCammon writes. “Discretion is a virtue. The most underrated tactic in the workplace is silence.”

15. I’ll try.
Star Wars fans will recognize this line as Yoda’s go-to advice: “Do, or do not. There is no try.” Turns out the wee Jedi had a point, the Workopolis website says. “[I’ll try] implies that there is the possibility that whatever [is being requested] may not be done. Instead, use ‘I will,’ and my confidence in you will instantly return.” Can’t get the job done in the required timeline? Let your boss know, and present a more realistic option.

16. I'm too busy.
Saying this at work is doubly dangerous, Kreek says. On one hand, it “admits that you cannot set boundaries and effectively prioritize your life.” On the other, it may make the listener feel unappreciated or unimportant.

17. I feel...
“I believe” or “I’m certain” show conviction and confidence. But “I feel”? Not so much. “You may think at work, but you may not feel,” McCammon writes. “The phrase is a silence-filler that communicates doubt about your work and yourself.”

18. I might be able to...
Like “try,” “might” is another word that sets you up to fail, Marr writes. “When people use words like this, it’s because they’re expecting not to be able to do whatever is being asked of them. Or, sometimes it’s used grudgingly. A client asks you to go above and beyond your original agreement, and to placate them, you say you ‘might’ be able to add something. In either case, don’t hedge. Stand your ground and say what you mean.”

19. "Please stop crying" or "there’s no need to cry".
Think crying is a sign of weakness? Think again, Kreek says. “Crying is part of a physical response to stress that is essential to recovery. Suppressing this response slows down the healing process.”

20. That’s impossible.
Thinking something is impossible makes it so. How many breakthroughs, inventions, and billion-dollar ideas would never have happened if this attitude prevailed? If your superiors ask you to do something, “it’s because they believe it’s possible and they believe in you,” the Workopolis website points out. “If you have concerns about actually getting it done, respond instead with, ‘Let me look into our options and resources, and I’ll get back to you.’”

Ref: https://www.msn.com/en-in/lifestyle/smart-living/the-things-you-should-never-say-at-work/ss-BBYViNj#image=20