Say this, not that

Step 1: Stop saying sorry

September 13, 2023

Hey friends. I don’t know what I’m more surprised about, Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet or the fact that I only ate the recommended serving size of Cherry Garcia last night instead of half the pint one “last spoonful” at a time. I never thought either was really possible!

Today’s tunes: It’s giving angsty teenage me at Hot Topic vibes and I’m here for it. Olivia Rodrigo’s new album has obviously been on repeat since it dropped on Friday. Especially “bad idea right?”

P.S. We’d love to help grant some teachers’ wishes this year! If you’re an educator with a classroom wish list, drop it here and we’ll share your list with all of our readers soon. 🫶

—Rod

How to Tell Your Boss to Back the (You Know What) Off…Nicely!

 question 
I’ve been at my job for 2.5 years now and have always been a top performer and never once given my boss a reason to not to trust me. But lately, their micromanaging has started making me feel inefficient and second guessing myself. How do I tell them to “back the (you know what) off” politely?—A.

 answer 
At the risk of implying a really gross, really old saying I’ve never totally understood…there’s more than one way to get things done. So you and your boss go about doing the books differently. So what?

If you’re trained, competent, and efficient, your boss should cut the helicopter behavior. Because that sounds like Anne Hathaway circa 2012 (Les Mis)—time to say something. Try opening the conversation with a thought-starter along the lines of:

“I’ve appreciated your guidance and support as I’ve transitioned into this role, but with you constantly checking in on my work, I can’t help but feel as if I’m doing something wrong. I want you to be able to fully trust that I will get the job done. Do you have any feedback on how we can get to this point?”

This way you’re 1) subtly letting your boss know they’re being lowkey annoying and 2) giving them an opportunity to let you know if you’re actually doing something wrong.

Got a Q for me to A? Submit yours here.

Say This, Not That: Workplace Edition

That question really got Team WorkDaze thinking about how important it is to communicate efficiently and positively in the workplace. So the next time you open your mouth to say “sorry” for making your coworkers wait for you to figure out how to share your screen (you think we’d have learned this by now??), just don’t.

If you’re asking your boss for a raise…

❌ “I need a raise.”

✅ “In my time here, I’ve taken on more responsibility than my original job description listed, and I believe my salary no longer reflects the full extent of what I’m bringing to the table. Can we reevaluate to ensure I am fairly compensated for the work I’m doing on this team?”

…Giving specific examples of how your role has changed since you started will remind your boss that you’re doing a lot more than you were originally hired for. Our college years of working for free are looooong gone.

If you’re late…

❌ “Sorry for the delay.”

✅ “Thank you for your patience.”

…24% of Americans apologize for at least one thing a day that’s out of their control. Save your sorries for when you actually need them.

If you and your coworker disagree on an idea…

❌ “You’re wrong.”

✅ “I’m going to respectfully disagree with you on this, and I would like for us to take some time to put our heads together and come up with something that we can both get on board with.”

…It’s not you vs. your colleague, it’s you and your colleague vs. a problem. I think I read that in a book (okay…saw that in a TikTok) one time re: romantic relationships, but it still feels valid, no?

Sponsored by Notion

Say This, Not That: Notion Edition

Is your boss trying to rope you into working late—again? Struggling to find a professional way to tell them to…take a walk? At WorkDaze, we believe in (1) work-life boundaries and defending them without making your boss hate you and (2) working smarter, not harder.

With Notion AI, you can generate a *professional* message to protect your peace and your manager’s feelings. With a single click, nail the right tone by writing a prompt about your situation—be as honest as you’d like with Notion AI.

Translating your work frustrations is one of many Notion AI features—check the rest out here.

Things To Send Your Work Besties

…while you sip your first PSL of the season.

Companies have started requiring employees to return to the office, but they shouldn’t expect them to stay the full eight hours. In fact, only about 50% of office appearances last more than six hours now. I smell a little pollarooni here…

If you’ve been required to go back to the office, do you stay the whole day?

Click one to rock the vote.

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We all know I love a good lunch dessert, but a breakfast dessert? Say less.

Kristen Cavallari says her podcast, Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari, is the first time she’s showing off her complete and real self. Wait so you’re telling me that Laguna Beach was all a lie??

That’s all for today! Hope something good happens to you this week! See you next Wednesday. ❤️

IDK WHAT DO I KNOW?! LMAO!

—Rod

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