We’ve all told a white lie or two at work – whether it be taking a sick day to recover from flu (cough, cough, hangover), or that we love the motivational memes Susanne in accounting sends to the whole team each Monday.
We’ve all grown up with the age-old adage “honesty is the best policy”, but when might that not be true? We’ll save you the future embarrassment and repercussions by listing out a few situations in which you might want to keep the honest answer to yourself when in the arty work place…
You are looking at changing jobs/company
We can’t recommend keeping your cards to your chest enough in the case of looking for new jobs while you’re still employed somewhere else. It might be tempting to let your boss know, in a moment of frustration (especially over pay) “well, I’m thinking of leaving anyway”, but this could end up with you having your current role terminated, and without anywhere else to go.
You are arguing for a raise or interviewing for a position
Whether you are trying to convince your boss to give you a raise, or interviewing for a new job, you probably shouldn’t be entirely honest about why you want what you want. Realistically, the main reason most of us want the job is “I need money to pay rent”, and the main reason for wanting a raise is “I want more money so I can buy more than just my rent”. These answers won’t go down well. Make sure you’ve got some fluffier, more detailed answers ready to go.
You don’t like the exhibiting artist’s work
It can be hard to hold your tongue when everyone else in the gallery is fawning over the latest exhibiting artist and their work if you think it’s, well, a bit crap. When network is at stake, it’s always best to do a bit of boot-licking.
You’re pulling a sicky
If you’ve maybe had one too many the night before, are in bed with a new amore, or you’re sneaking off to a festival on a Friday – you definitely want to keep the details to yourself.
*It’s important to note, do you feel like you’re “faking” needing a sick day, because you feel burnt out, or mentally unwell? You are not faking it – you need to take a day off in the same way you would with a physical illness. Look after yourself boo.*
You don’t like someone in your team
We doubt there’s any company in the world where every single employee genuinely likes every single member of their team. If you think that someone in your team is annoying, childish, or boring – keep it to yourself. However, if that person is hindering your progress or is regularly causing offense, that’s the time to get HR involved.
Author: Verity Babbs
