Sharing your opinion at work is important. It’s good to get your voice heard, especially as a young employee or apprentice. Here’s how.
Why sharing your opinion at work is important
When you share your opinion, you can help to shape the way that things are done, resolve issues, and create positive change in the workplace. Many employers are now actively seeking out youth voice feedback and input from the young people on their teams.
However, there are good and bad ways to have your say. Read on to learn some of our top tips for sharing your voice without compromising your boundaries, hurting your professional reputation, or making problems worse.
Understanding Your Boundaries
Your boundaries are limits that relate to yourself and what you are comfortable doing or discussing. One easy example might be, “I am not comfortable discussing my health issues in the workplace.”
It is important to pay attention to your own boundaries and try to develop a robust understanding of what they are. This is a great way to look after yourself and make sure that you do not make yourself any more vulnerable than you are happy with. Boundaries can both expand and tighten over time, so check in with yourself regularly.
Sometimes you may discover a boundary only by crossing it. If this happens, you’re allowed to pull back. For example, you might need to politely but firmly say something like, “I’ve realised I don’t feel comfortable talking about this subject at work. I’ll let you know if that changes.”
Sharing Your Opinion Constructively
Sometimes, when giving feedback, you may need to be critical. This is fine and, usually, expected. Most employers do not seek feedback just because they want to be told they are already perfect (and if they do, this is a bad practice and probably not a particularly healthy place to work!)
However, it is important to be constructive when sharing your feedback. A list of complaints without suggestions for improvement is of little use to anybody. Therefore, when you are giving your opinion on a problem area at work, always try to offer at least some ideas as to how it could be better.
For example, saying “we’re all overworked and have too much on our plates” is a non-constructive complaint. Saying “I really believe we need to either add a new member to the team or pause some projects for now to prevent further overwork and burnout” is constructive.
Be Mindful of Professionalism
Professionalism is hugely important because it has a significant impact on the way that your boss and colleagues see you. It can have an effect on everything from your annual review score to your opportunities for advancement. In extreme cases, unprofessionalism can even cost you a job.
There are things that your boss and coworkers simply don’t need to be told. One example, which we see unfortunately frequently, is employees who come into work hungover (or call out with a hangover!) Please try not to do this, it’s usually very obvious and it does not do your professional reputation any favours. However, we’re all human. So if this does happen, it’s better to say “I’m feeling a bit under the weather today” rather than “I stayed out drinking until 4 AM.”
Other common examples of unprofessionalism we see include badmouthing colleagues or bosses, badmouthing or gossiping about clients or customers, allowing strong emotions to overrule good behaviour, swearing, oversharing (more on that in the next section), and complaining or passing blame without taking ownership and helping to solve problems.
Sharing Without Oversharing
There is an art to knowing how much to share at work without oversharing. In general, it is best to be brief and focus on delivering top-line information in a constructive way, particularly around issues that could be sensitive or contentious.
Sometimes, you might have a strong opinion but need to temper it. For example, let’s say you have a new coworker who–for whatever reason–you find yourself not getting along with. If this issue is starting to impact how you can work together, you might talk to your boss about it. However, “Jane and I are having a personality clash and I am striving to remain professional but could use some guidance on how to handle it” is very different from “Jane is useless at her job and I don’t know why she was ever hired.”
On other occasions, you might find that areas of your life outside work are spilling over into the workplace and require discussion. Here’s an example: let’s imagine you and your spouse are going through a difficult time in your relationship and it’s impacting your focus at work. You might have a quiet word with your boss and say “I wanted to let you know that I’m having some personal difficulties right now. I’m trying not to bring them to work but if I seem a little distracted, that’s why.” What you shouldn’t do is give them a blow-by-blow account of the fight you had last night.
When in doubt, be succinct and share only what needs to be shared to get the point across.
Setting boundaries and No-Go Zones
We are hesitant to tell you that any topics are completely off-limits. However, there are a few topics that are so personal or contentious as to be almost always a bad idea to discuss at work. The three big no-go zones to be aware of are politics, religion, and sex.
Unless it is strictly relevant, we suggest avoiding these topics entirely at work. At the very least, if you are going to be discussing them, make sure that you have enthusiastic buy-in from everyone involved in the conversation and be aware of those who are not involved but can overhear you.
When it comes to boundaries, professionalism, and sharing your views, it is almost always better to err on the side of caution.
