Blogs

It’s not like we’re going to say these things to our boss tomorrow, but it’s what we think about quite often isn’t it? We bite our tongues in the professional world, especially around our boss. But it doesn’t stop there, it continues up the corporate chain.

Well, almost everyone. I guess there would be bosses out there to whom one can say anything they want, but they are few and far between. We’ve filtered ourselves around even the best of bosses. While these don’t apply to the best managers out there, they certainly apply to others.

Here are the top 10 things employees wish they could tell their boss.

You’re not always right!

We know the ‘conventional’ rule of the corporate hierarchy dictates that we consider the words of our superior as the absolute truth, but in many situations, it’s possible that they don’t know how your job works. Perhaps you’re an amazing marketing guru, but you still don’t know how the back end works. So, if I tell you something about my work, please know that I most likely know what you don’t, but we’re both looking at what’s in the best interest of the business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you admitting that you don’t know something, I’d happily explain, but don’t ever think you know better than the person doing the job.

Personal rapport won’t kill you

It doesn’t do any harm to say “Good Morning, how are you?” in the morning as opposed to you being face deep into a bunch of emails that most likely don’t even require your attention. It’s the small things that can have an ever-lasting impact. Being personable, having a laugh, making jokes, and building rapport will mean you will be less intimidating, thus a better overall relationship.

Just because you’re my boss, doesn’t mean I can’t judge your performance.

Isn’t it interesting that feedback and performance appraisals are always top-down in organizations? But guess what? The truth is, I’m secretly judging your performance as well. Remember when you said to take 5 minutes to re-read your emails before sending them so you don’t make a mistake? I noticed you sent that report to the wrong person, you know, that one email you send once a month to compared my hundreds. Nice try, though. Perhaps you can take an extra 5 minutes for your emails.

Get off my back and let me do my job!

I know what I’m doing, please stop asking me to document and report on everything. Let me focus on my job and you focus on yours. Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Micromanagement is not necessary.

Do my job for a day so you can see what I go through

Remember that conversation we had where I said the workload is too much to handle for one person? And your response to that was “you’re doing too much”… um… no, it’s because you don’t understand what I actually do on a daily basis to help make you look good.

That wasn’t me, it was the person before me

I know my entire existence as a human being is dedicated to accompanying your every request, but it’s hard to be accountable for things that happen years before I was hired.

Stop asking me questions that you should know the answer to!

If you’re coming to me asking questions that you should really know the answer to, chances are you shouldn’t be my boss. But hey, who am I to judge, right? Kudos to you for bluffing your way through the interview.

More work? Gee, thanks for the pay rise!

I love being the go-to person to finish off that report that you forgot about. Or suddenly, I’m meant to have the answer to a question completely unrelated to my job. But how come I was passed for the promotion? Surely, the more-deserving colleague who was not approached or is never contributing to the greater success of the team would have been happy with the additional responsibility.

How about I do as you do and not as you say?

Ironic isn’t it. Don’t look at what I do, but do as I say. Great leadership skills you have. I wonder what would happen if I did as you did instead of as you say? I’d probably be out of a job, but love that you can get away with it.

I QUIT!

Oh wait, I have a degree from one of the most prestigious universities, never mind, I’ll keep listening to you talk about how the CEO knows your name.

What do you wish you could tell your boss?