2019-09-01 Cosmopolitan South Africa

THESITUATION
You’retheonly
onestayinglate
A littleovertimeis often
unavoidable– butif you
constantlyfindyourself
working after hours on
your own once the rest
of the team’s gone home,
you need to ask why.

What to do about it
First, look at what you have on and
how you manage your time. Are
you being productive during the
day? Or do you flit between tasks
and struggle to focus? Make sure
that the reason you’re working late
is because your colleagues aren’t
doing as much as they should be

• then think about what you could
  hand over and arrange a group
  meeting. ‘Say something like,
  “I understand we need to achieve
  X, but I’m not able to give my best
  because I’m doing so much. I’d
  appreciate it if we could share the
  workload,”’ says business coach
  Julie Alexander. If your colleagues
  say they also feel overworked,
  then ask HR or your line manager
  if you might be able to expand
  your team. Build a strong case
  that includes a breakdown of
  how much everyone is already
  doing and highlight the potential

orry is supposedto bethehardestword(if Elton

John isto bebelieved– andhealmostalways

is). Butstepinsideanyworkplaceandyou’llfind

it trippingoffourtonguesin theboardroom,post

room, stationerycupboardandkitchenette.So

much sothatit won’tsurpriseyouto knowthat

womenapologisemorefrequentlythanmen,and

are farmorelikelyto keepquietwhensomething

really doesneedsaying*.Toensurethatwhat

you thinkof asbasichumandecencyisn’t

mistakenforweakness,tryourno-frillsguide

to not takinganycrapat work.

You’re sitting opposite

your manager in a meeting

room and are feeling well-

prepared and confident.

You’ve worked really hard

and hope that they’ve

noticed all your efforts.

Then your manager glosses

over your achievements and

points out the areas where

they think you’re lagging

behind. Surely they’ve got

it wrong?

What to do about it

‘First, tell yourself that this person

cares enough about you to give

you feedback. Then ask them for

reasons,’ says Alexander. If your

boss says they don’t think that you

are working hard enough, ask for

elaboration. If you don’t agree,

say something like, ‘I understand

that but, from my perspective, the

situation looks like this... There

seems to be a gap between us –

how can we close it?’ By making

it an ‘us’ conversation, rather than

‘me versus you’, you’re likely to

get further.

THE SITUATION

You’ve been

unfairly blamed

After working really

conscientiously on

a team project, you’re

excited to share your

contribution with your

manager. That is until

a colleague, who put

in much less time and

effort, blames their

blunder on you.

What to do about it

‘Tryto see where the colleague is

coming from – then ask them about

it directly,’ suggests Alexander.

They might have done it because

they’re worried about their own

consequencesof nothiringa new

member.Explainhowanextra

personwillboostthewhole

team’sperformance.

THESITUATION

They’retakingcredit

for yourwork

Anoverexcitednewcomer

hasdecidedthatyourto-

dolistappealsmorethan

theirs.Nowyou’reclashing

overthesametasks.Worse,

they’retakingallthepraise.

What todo

aboutit

Askyourselfif it’sintentional.

Theymaybeunderpressureor

justwantto help.Onceyou’ve

lookedat thebiggerpicture,

arrangeto speakto them

awayfromtheirdesk.‘You

couldsaysomethinglike,

“I don’tthinkwe’regetting

thebestresultsbyboth

doingthesametasks,”’

suggestsAlexander.Remind

themwhichtasksyou’vebeen

assignedandputforward

otherstheycould(read:should)

bedoinginstead.

THESITUATION

I t ’s y o u r

performancereview...

WORK

107

COSMOPOLITAN.CO.ZA | SEPTEMBER 2019

‘ Yo u c a n

love your job,

but your

job will never

love you

b a c k ’