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Best Ways To Stop Being Taken Advantage Of At Work
If you’ve ever been at work and are stuck dealing with a project that doesn’t really inspire you, then it’s likely that you’re being taken advantage of. The problem is that it is often hard to say no to a boss. After all, you want to please them in order to get ahead.
There are several reasons why a boss may take advantage of you. It could simply be that they are overloading you and don’t realize it. They may realize but not care, especially if you never complain, or they may be trying to hound you out of the job by making it impossible to do what you need to do. If that is the case then you should speak to a reputable unfair dismissal lawyer and make sure your rights are protected.
In all other situations, you’re going to need to learn how to deal with your boss and stop them from taking advantage.
Start With No
If you’re being taken advantage of there is a good chance that you don’t know how to say no. It’s time to learn to say no. Of course, this is going to shock your boss if they are used to you saying yes. But, you don’t need to be rude. Simply tell your boss that you can’t do it because you have too much other work on.
They may push but you can repeat the same phrase, ‘it’s just not possible’ until they get the message. It’s surprising, but once you have done this once you’ll find it easier to do it again. Your boss will find someone else to do it so you can stop thinking you are the only possible solution.
Delegate More
This depends slightly on your position in the company. However, if saying no isn’t an option then you should look at your current workload and see what can be passed on to others. Delegating will lighten your load and help other members of staff to advance. All you have to do is trust that they will do it properly. If you’ve trained them well then they may be better at the job than you.
This fess up your time to take on the additional projects. Best of all, even when you take on extra work that you don’t like, you’ll be able to delegate the parts you don’t like doing and you’ll find it easier to create the right work-life balance.
Practice Dealing With Conflict
Most people that don’t like to say no do so because they try to avoid conflict. This is understandable but won’t stop you from being taken advantage of.
If this applies to you then start practising deep breathing exercises now. This will help you control your stress and focus on making clear arguments to get your point across. Learning this now means you’ll be able to focus on the reasons why you can’t take on extra work. This will allow you to portray the reasons calmly and professionally.
Not only will you prevent yourself from being taken advantage of, but you’ll also find that your boss is likely to have a newfound respect for you.
Just remember, there are times when the work has to be done for the good of the team. You need to be able to say yes as well as no.
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].
