Workplace Wellbeing: Learning to say 'no' when you're in work

We learn that people like us more when we’re helpful. So we develop our ability to say yes more than our skill to say no

Experts note that we say yes in order to please people and to be liked. We want to avoid conflict, which makes us pull back from saying no. Yet, constantly saying yes isn’t always in our best interests.

No! Toddlers use this word a lot, as do teenagers. So why is it that once we grow up and enter the workforce, many of us find it hard to say no to our employers, colleagues and clients?

Learning to refuse requests for help can be one of the most challenging skills to master. A 2015 LinkedIn study of more than 19,000 professionals worldwide found that younger workers struggle with it the most. Some 58% of 18 to 29-year-olds described themselves as a ‘yes person’ who always did what they were asked.