Phrases to Avoid at Work

For several months I have been enjoying the blog of Alexander Kjerulf: The Chief Happiness Officer. He has just written a book called Happiness Hour is 9 to 5: How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life, and Kick Butt at Work.

I loved his post this morning about phrases to avoid at work. Here is an excerpt:

“It’s not my dream job, but it’s only for a year…”
ONLY A YEAR? Don’t you realize that a year is 12 months? 200 working days? 1600 hours? Say this instead: “It’s not the ideal job, so I didn’t take it.”

“He’s a jerk, but he gets results!”
Yeah, HE gets results - everybody else gets demotivated, bullied, harassed and stressed. Say this instead: “He’s a jerk, so we fired him!”

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”
Murphy’s law. The safe haven for pessimists everywhere. Too bad it ain’t true. Say this instead: “Things may go wrong - then we fix them!”

“My boss doesn’t motivate me.”
Listen: No boss ever motivated a single employee in the history of employment. Motivation is an emotion - your motivation exists inside you, and you’re in charge of it. Say this instead: “I motivate me.”

“I hate my job - but so does everyone else.”
Hating your job may be a common enough thing today - but so is adult onset diabetes. That doesn’t mean you don’t do something about it! Say this instead: “I hated my job. So I got a new one.” or “I hated my job, so I fixed it.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch”
Except that there is. Plenty. The world is a generous, forgiving and nurturing place, and sometimes you get exactly what you need exactly when you need it.If you’re open to it, that is. Say this instead: “Can I buy you lunch?”

“What’s wrong with people today?!”
If every single person you interact with seems incredibly annoying… the problem may be you. Say this instead: “Hmmm… I seem to be easily annoyed today.”

“I’m stuck in a dead-end job.”
Riiight. You’re stuck. There’s no way out. Because three men in ski-masks show up every morning and force you to go to work at gunpoint. Say this instead: “I am where I’ve chosen to be! And if I want, I can choose to be somewhere else.”

“Let’s not get carried away!”
WHAT?! There is nothing better than being carried away by a great idea, nice people, a fun meeting or a good conversation. Say this instead: “This is wonderful!”

“It’s too good to be true!”
Funny how you never hear people saying “This is too bad to be true.” Say this instead: “This is great. I love it!”

“What’s the catch?”
Sometimes there just ain’t no catch. Say this instead: “Thank you!”

“You can’t trust people.”
Nonsense. Most people are nice, honest and loyal. Are you gonna treat them badly because of the tiny percentage of cheaters? Say this instead: “People are great!”

Tune in to Alexander's blog here. You'll enjoy it.