05 Jul Don’t Text Your Boss
These times, it’s not rare for someone to go over a daunting aspect of a relationship with someone over text, or for it to be the way one spouse chooses to tell their partner that they want a divorce. Sometimes people will talk about something heartbreaking that happened, or say mean things to someone that they’d never have the guts to say to their face.
Well. Heads up. We know this is gonna be a real shocker, but like to know one area in which this “texting tactic” should never be used?
Don’t text your boss, homie.
Even though it’s cool some of your group of friends, it’s not going to be cool with the big guy at the workplace. Nope. If you have something to say, it’s usually better to go and have that conversation in person, and below’s why.
Your mad texting abilities may mean you’re super social and have tons to say, but they aren’t planning to help you perform saying important things personally. Sometimes you might need to go talk to the boss about something at the office that you’re annoyed with, or you might be itching under the collar because you feel that you ought to get a raise and you’re wanting to go pitch your case. Pretty sure, except if he’s already your buddy, he’s not going to respond in the best fashion when his phone dings and it’s a text from you: “What’s up bro, I think I need a salary increase”. (And we’re not even going to comment on the fact that you’re missing an apostrophe and comma, there should be a question mark after your question, and there ought to be a period lattermost of what should be your second sentence. That’s really for a chat on grammar. Onward.) Recommendation: it’s a smart idea to learn how to have important conversations in person and be able to express yourself verbally, even in situations that may be a little awkward.
To support that point, conversations in person will obtain more respect from your employer. When he or she knows that you’ll involve their office to examine your concerns, they’ll know you won’t conceal behind a screen when you have something important to say. They’ll recognize that you have an opinion, and you own it adequately to step up and say it out loud.
Discussing something face to face gives your boss an opportunity to get to know you personally. And sure, we know you don’t want to be known as the person who’s trying to become the favorite, but it’s never bad to establish a few connections that make the people you work with more than just titles.
And, as an ultimate point, if your boss understands more about you and likes what they figure out about your work ethic and personality, it may open doors professionally that you might not have had otherwise. If you stick out in a great way (instead of being just another person at a cubicle), you might be the person the management team calls on when they are planning to make a new strategic move, or when they have an extra ticket for box seats to an upcoming game.
Hence, when in doubt, don’t text. Just don’t do it. Have the conversation and go face to face, despite the fact that it has to happen on one of our coaches when the boss employs us to do the driving for the office ski trip. We’ll try not to listen in, but we’ll certainly give you the thumbs up on the sly for having enough guts to say it how it is.