If you work for hire, then you definitely have a boss, and it often happens that he is not just a “difficult case”, but a real nightmare, delegating his work to other people or subordinates, taking advantage of his official position. On the one hand, there is nothing special about this, because he is the boss, and as they say in the army: “Orders are not discussed,” and delegation of authority in an organization quite normal. But there are also situations when, on the one hand, there is an order from your boss, which must be urgently and unquestioningly carried out, and on the other, your personal life, or the time that you wanted to spend on fulfilling your duties. But you won’t make excuses to your personal “Cerberus” that today is your husband’s birthday and you can’t stay late, or you still need to finish last month’s report, which still doesn’t work out. In this case, you are faced with only two options: either agree to additional unpaid work in order to be known as a suck-up and a good girl in the eyes of your boss, or confidently refuse your boss by saying “NO.”
Often, it is at this stage of work that the first difficulties arise, because you don’t want to lose your job, but you have to work even harder. Not every employee is capable, or even knows, how to refuse the director to carry out his overtime assignments. In our article, we do not consider the option of simply shirking one’s responsibilities. We will talk about how to correctly justify your refusal of additional workload, while maintaining your dignity and remaining in your position, and, perhaps, rising in the eyes of your boss.
Be sure that once you agree to carry out an additional assignment from your boss, in the future it will be more difficult for you to refuse, so if this problem has presented itself to you for the first time, be sure to read the following rules that will help you properly organize your relationship with your boss and defend the right to your personal life .
Probably everyone has already watched the movie “Always Say YES” with Jim Carrey. The slogan of this film is: “One word can change your life.” But only in the movies can the main character, by agreeing to everything, reach heights. In real life, the opposite is true. It is always necessary to correctly prioritize what is more important - career or self-esteem, family or respect from your boss.
As social psychologist and doctor of social sciences Susan Newman, who wrote the book “Simple No,” says, “ People need to break their habit of agreeing to everything. Once you say “no” to your boss, you can focus on your personal goals and achieve more. Constantly agreeing, on the other hand, harms your reputation and can even ruin your career. Top management expects you to complete your work efficiently and within the specified time frame. But if you mess up because you have too many responsibilities, you will lose trust.».
Young specialists, being only on the first steps of their career ladder (few people know how to behave correctly in the first days of work), often agree to do any work that is at least somewhat similar to what is specified in their job description. But, over time, the higher you climb up this very ladder, the more valuable your time is, and more often you have to choose between help and personal matters. That is why knowledge how to tactfully refuse your boss, is one of the most important. Before refusing, you need to analyze the degree of importance of this assignment and weigh not only the disadvantages, but also the advantages of the “consequences” of completing this task.
If you are still at a fairly low level of the hierarchy, and your future fate directly depends on your boss’s attitude towards you, the right choice would be to agree to complete the task if it still concerns your work activity. But be sure that having taken a responsible position and being well established in any company, your agreement to carry out a risky project can harm not only the fulfillment of your main responsibilities, but also exhaust you and lower your authority in the eyes of colleagues in case of failure.
One of the first steps to limit the omnipotence of your Boss is to sign an employment contract, with all the nuances of paying for overtime, even at the stage of hiring. It is possible that at first the boss will still test your weaknesses in order to form an opinion about you, so you must be prepared and know how to act correctly in this case. Your task is to beautifully present to the employer the thesis that you are not ready to take on more than the task, but will always be ready to support in the event of a force majeure situation.
When your boss tries to persuade you to participate in some dubious project, you can use this trick: before agreeing or refusing, simply list him or her your current work assignments and ask for advice in choosing priorities.
Never waste time with an explanation. You shouldn’t “pull the cat by the tail,” tormenting both yourself mentally and pissing off the Boss with your bad condition make the right decision. You should never make excuses. Try to move your conversation in a different direction as quickly as possible, saying a firm “no” in between. You need to let the Boss understand right away that if you take on one more (one hundred and first) case, it is unlikely that you will be able to deliver all the work with high quality and on time. You need to immediately confront him with the fact that you are always ready to do some part of the work, but it’s up to him to decide which part.
When a job requires studying additional literature or some skills hitherto unknown to you, it is better not to take on such work initially and tactfully refuse your boss, unless, of course, you think that this will help you expand your range of capabilities in the future. But when you decide say no and refuse a request, you shouldn’t be scared, because you are not a robot, and you can’t know everything at once. If your bosses are trying to pin someone else’s work on you because the colleague responsible for it went on vacation before an emergency, you should under no circumstances agree. You can always present an argument such as: “I am not the best candidate for this task, Petrova will do a better job, because it is closer to her.” But don’t overdo it when mowing the arrows. Your boss may conclude that you are simply incapable of anything and are lazy.
Never give in to direct flattery or false compliments from your superiors; once you are hooked on sweet words, you will never jump back into your lake (many managers know well how to manipulate people correctly). You will simply have to do everything that your boss, generous with flattery, says, and you will never learn from personal experience how to tactfully refuse your boss.
Most HR experts advise never to be afraid of a clear distinction between two sides. Family and work. It's hard to get a mother to work who just wants to leave at exactly 5:00 pm and spend the evening with her family (unless your boss is single or simply doesn't have family values and isn't an avid workaholic, he'll understand).
Don't be afraid to reach out to your colleagues. Our advice is to take a closer look at how they refuse their superiors. Ask them to tell you how they once “put their boss in his place.”
A good way to hint to your boss that you are well aware of your job responsibilities is to have a brochure with job descriptions placed in the most visible place of your workplace. If, nevertheless, you are asked to do someone else’s work, you can ask with childish naivety (and by no means ironically): “Are these responsibilities spelled out in my job description?” Of course, this is a rather unpleasant conversation, but if you want to refuse your boss and resist his desire to make you a workhorse, you must demonstrate that you know your rights well.
Naturally, you can answer in a more rude form: “This is not my job, but yours”, “These are not my direct responsibilities”, “I do not receive money for this and will not do this”, etc. However, you should understand that you can answer this way only as a last resort, when the management does not understand polite refusals and is systematically trying to burden you. Of course, in this case, possible consequences are possible, such as, for example, a reduction in allowances and a reduction in premiums. However, it is up to you to decide what is more important: a high level of income or psychological health and your own rightness.
In any case, no matter how you decide to refuse your boss, politely and tactfully, or in a more rude manner, always be calm and confident that you are right. Then the director may be imbued with respect for your demonstrated strength of character and will listen to you.
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Specialists from the recruiting company HeadHunter conducted an interesting study a couple of years ago, which revealed that out of almost 10,000 working Russians, more than 70% regularly receive personal assignments from their immediate superiors. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of respondents perceive this fact quite calmly. And only 16% are outraged by this behavior of bosses.
What are the reasons for such readiness to fulfill the requests of superiors? Firstly, the eastern component of our mentality plays a significant role, when a person’s importance is determined by his place on the social ladder. The authorities need serve, obey, After all, our well-being, status, and peace of mind depend on it.
Secondly, we often treat our work and our work team as a kind of extension of our family. And for us, not fulfilling a personal order from the boss is the same as refusing a relative.
OPINION
“ My boss sometimes asks me to look for the necessary information for him on the Internet; a couple of times he asked me to take documents when the driver was sick. But it doesn’t bother me, we just have normal human relations. But if I need to go to the clinic or take leave for family reasons, the boss always meets me halfway.”
Tamara,
accountant, Petrozavodsk
In addition, many subordinates comply with the requests of their leader in order to demonstrate their loyalty and earn extra points in his eyes.
The most common personal requests from bosses are to pick up something, bring or buy something, or call somewhere. However, there are also originals who ask to look after their children, walk or feed their pets.
When “managerial” requests happen infrequently, you can still put up with them: why not help out, after all, it’s not a stranger, in general, who is asking. But if this has already become a system, you need to immediately look for a way out of this situation. Agree, after all, you studied at a university (or maybe more than one) for 5-6 years, worked hard, gaining professional experience, attended various advanced training courses, not at all in order to run to the store to buy buns for your boss or pick him up suit from the dry cleaner.
Fulfilling requests: what we expect and what we risk
We have certain positive expectations associated with fulfilling management's requests. But with every expectation comes a certain risk.
You need to refuse your boss wisely, so as not to harm yourself. Here are some rules.
RULE 1. Deal with surging emotions.
Even if the request deeply outraged you, do not show it. If you lose your temper, the number of problems will only increase. After all, then you will also have to deal with what you manage to say without controlling yourself. Suddenly you remember that “everyone is taking advantage of you,” and then your colleagues will be offended, or “they weren’t hired at all,” and then the employer will have something to think about...
RULE 2. Give reasons for your refusal.
There are many arguments for refusal. We offer several options.
| Argument option | Example phrases |
| Refer to scope of work | Unfortunately, I can't do this right now. I have a lot of work. If I now switch to your request, then the report that you ordered to be prepared by the evening will not be done |
| Suggest an alternative | I’m afraid I won’t take into account a lot of small nuances when choosing a hotel in the Alps for your wife. But my good friend works at a travel agency, I can give her contact information |
| Complain about the lack of knowledge/skills/competence necessary to fulfill the request | I actually knew German quite well before, but I haven’t practiced it for a long time, so I may not accurately translate the instructions for your car |
| Shift responsibility for refusal to a third party/circumstances | I'd love to, but my immediate supervisor doesn't approve. I would be glad to fill out a visa application form for you, but I took eye drops in the morning and I’m seeing double |
RULE 3. Refusal should not be veiled.
For example, the boss asks you to visit his great-aunt on her day off and bring groceries, saying that you live next to her. It is completely natural for you to react with displeasure. But remember: your dissatisfied grimace is not yet a voiced refusal! It’s better to say directly: “Sorry, but I can’t do this, I myself have a lot of plans for this day,” so that the person asking does not have any illusions or false hopes.
RULE 4. Call on formalities to help.
If in ordinary life they often only get in the way, then in the case of personal requests from the boss they can do a good job. It's safe to say that running personal errands is not part of your job responsibilities. You can also ask (only tactfully) that the order be formalized in writing: “I will do everything, just please draw up the appropriate order.” The boss will most likely be too lazy to bother with this and will turn to someone else. True, this technique can only be used in large or highly bureaucratic companies, where for every “sneeze” there is a separate regulation.
By refusing our boss, we do not lose, but gain!
Paradoxical as it may seem, by refusing to fulfill the personal requests of your boss, you can gain a lot. For example:
1. Time to perform your immediate job duties.
According to a HeadHunter survey, 52% of respondents were able to carry out personal orders from their boss during working hours. But then at what time did they do their own work?
OPINION
“When, at the director’s request, I spent 4 hours of PERSONAL time to make an advance payment for his Infiniti at the car dealership, and then he didn’t even say thank you, I felt very offended.”
Irina,
financial analyst, Moscow
2. Self-respect.
If we do something that disgusts us, we are psychologically destroyed. Is the fulfilled request of the boss worth its own internal problems?
3. Respect for the boss.
It is unlikely that the boss (if he is a normal person) will fire you from your job because you did not run to him for buns. Most likely, there will be the opposite effect. If you have clearly and firmly stated your position, then you have proven yourself to be a mature person with whom constructive dialogue and effective interaction are possible. Most managers are well aware that You can only rely on what offers resistance. This is why people who know how to say “no” often get ahead beyond those who don’t say no.
In small companies, employees willy-nilly have to help the manager solve his personal problems. In large organizations the distance is longer. There, the barrier is deliberately erected to minimize contacts between staff and top managers. In such companies, the entire burden of informal assignments falls on the personal assistant. But you still cannot completely insure yourself against the personal requests of your immediate superior.
So should you follow the boss’s lead or not? It's up to you to decide! After all, you know the inner workings of your company better. But we still advise you to first answer two questions for yourself: “What will I gain by fulfilling the request?” and “What will I lose by not fulfilling the request?”
It often happens that you cannot refuse the requests of your boss or the requests of your colleagues, and they are happy to dump a bunch of their work on you without any gratitude. What to do in this situation? How to learn to say no without losing your job or losing the support of your colleagues. We will try to give you answers to these and other questions.
In fact, there is nothing good in a situation where in a team everyone is for himself. Well, what is joint work without mutual assistance? But everything is good in moderation, if we regularly fulfill other people’s requests without fail, we will acquire a reputation as an office Cinderella, and our selfless work for the common good will be taken for granted. Remember the librarian from the movie “In Love by Your Own Desire”? This is someone who was always ready to come to the aid of his colleagues: to substitute, to do someone else’s work, to lend money... As a result, when this kind soul one day finally dared to refuse a colleague (whom, by the way, she saw for the first time in her life), she was terribly indignant: “How can you not replace me?! But they described you completely differently to me!”
“It’s not a problem to put your colleagues in their place, but how can you refuse your boss? I want to prove myself from the best side” - so many people say. In fact, practice shows: constantly “taking fire for yourself” in the hope of a promotion is a futile idea. Alas, the amount of work sometimes has a deplorable effect on its quality - under stress, office cinderellas begin to make more and more mistakes and this makes them even more nervous. And as a result, instead of the desired promotion or increase in salary, they sometimes end up with emotional and professional burnout.
“Overwork leads to the fact that the office worker begins to feel that his labor heroism is not sufficiently appreciated by his superiors,” says Sergei Artemyev, coach of the Milamar girls’ school. “At some point, he may break down - accuse the employer of black ingratitude, thereby provoking a conflict and, perhaps, even lose his job.” But losing her isn't the worst thing that can happen to a corporate altruist. It is much worse if, constantly fulfilling other people’s wishes, such a person ceases to understand what he himself wants. He breaks the connection with himself, loses himself...
Why is it sometimes difficult to refuse?
There are many reasons for this. One of the main ones, perhaps, is low self-esteem. Some people are so unsure of themselves that it seems to them that only by helping others do they become truly needed and needed by someone. Someone's feelings and desires always come first for them. And they forget about their own, pushing them into the background. In a team, such people are usually quickly recognized and turned into corporate “donkeys”. Another reason for reliability is the desire to be indispensable. We burden ourselves with other people's problems in exchange for a reputation as a unique specialist, which (what is there to hide?) greatly flatters our pride.
Some (usually nice, humble people like the librarian in the movie) simply don’t like conflict or are afraid of offending someone. It’s easier for them to agree to do what is asked than to get involved in a showdown.
Do you recognize yourself in the description? Well, it's time to learn to fight back.
Learning to say “no”
❧ When explaining your refusal, use the pronoun “I” more often. Don’t say: “You’re annoying me with your requests,” but “I won’t do this,” “It doesn’t suit me...” Then briefly explain the reason for the refusal (“I don’t have time,” “I’m busy with other things”).
❧ They still didn’t hear you? Voice your position again, if necessary, then two, three, five... This technique is called “Broken Record”: you do not argue with your interlocutor, do not raise your voice, but only tediously and methodically press your line. An important condition: your posture and intonation must be confident and calm. Don’t hesitate, don’t fawn and don’t apologize - then your refusal will sound convincing.
❧ Giving the applicant a “turn away”, you can sweeten the pill and use “Refusal with understanding”: “Yes, I see it’s not easy for you, but in such a situation I can’t help you.” This technique is especially effective in dealing with those people who are trying to play on our feelings. In addition, sometimes words of sympathy are no less important than real help.
❧ If it’s difficult for you to refuse your boss, listen to the advice of psychologist Sergei Artemyev: “The boss may not know how busy you are. For him, the main thing is that the business works at any cost. You just need to tell your boss the real state of affairs and offer your solution to the problem. For example: “Ivan Petrovich, if I take on this project, I will have to postpone the other one, otherwise the quality will suffer. Most likely, I will need an employee to help, or I will have to choose the highest priority of two projects.”
Why you need to say “no”
Humans are social creatures, following the instincts that have allowed group animals to survive for millions of years. One of the main such instincts is the psychological fusion of a person with a group. This is when “we” appears instead of “I”. Such a merger helps the “pack” act more harmoniously, experience the same feelings, emotions, want the same things, have the same beliefs... Thanks to the psychological merger between colleagues, a friendly, safe atmosphere is created in the team. It can be difficult to say no to co-workers because we want to be united with them into a common “we,” and the word “no” can create distance between us. (Distance has appeared, which means we may be rejected, and this is scary.)
This merging is dangerous due to the loss of oneself as an individual, because a person lives someone else’s life. And all this for the sake of good relationships, safe coexistence with others. The price is too high...
Many employees are afraid of conflicts at work. Therefore, they unquestioningly carry out additional tasks. Such an employee is approached by colleagues and managers. A person drags out his work, performs additional tasks, stays overtime. The question arises: is a gentle person or a coward? The main reason why employees agree to additional workload is the fear of dismissal or loss. As practice shows, it is not possible to gain authority and break into leadership positions by pleasing others. How to say “no” to your boss?
Why are we afraid to refuse?
It is not customary to act alone at work. Help between colleagues is needed. If there is no mutual assistance, then this is no longer a team. Everyone does a certain piece of work without caring about the result. Therefore, mutual assistance should be in the team. This concept implies voluntary and mutual assistance. But more often it happens differently. Colleagues and the manager find a workhorse and assign additional tasks.
Why are we afraid to refuse? Employees are driven by the following reasons:
- The desire to establish oneself as a responsible employee. At first it even works out. But the volume of tasks will melt, but no one has canceled the main work. As a result, the employee makes mistakes and receives a reprimand.
- . There is a category of people who believe that only by completing other people's tasks and helping others do they become needed. Direct responsibilities and personal desires fade into the background. The main thing is to please others.
- The desire to become an indispensable employee. Such a person represents a universal and unique employee, without whom the boss is afraid to take a step.
Modest people or people who avoid conflicts are afraid to say “no.” It is easier for such individuals to fulfill a request than to object. If you recognize yourself in the above description, then it’s time to fight back.
Why do you need to learn to say “no”?
Even if regular consent is not fear or a character trait, but a developed strategy, consequences cannot be avoided. Fatigue accumulates, resulting in breakdowns. A person has to stay overtime or fail his main job. Why ?
- The employees and the boss don't appreciate it. People get used to good things quickly. If you heard the description of such an employee, you would be surprised. He is described as a person who never refuses and does any job. If at any point you have to refuse because of a good reason, then they will also be offended at you.
- Psychological and... It takes a lot of effort to complete multiple tasks. There is no time left for proper rest, the fear of not completing a task leads to stress. Emotions are at their limit. In this state, the employee will not last long.
- Resentments appear. A subordinate who plows for two or three feels dissatisfied after a while. It seems to him that the boss does not appreciate or respect him. Such thoughts lead to open conflict with the boss. An angry and stressed-out employee expresses everything he thinks.
The result of the consequences is dismissal, voluntary or at the direction of the manager. It turns out that the fear of saying “no” led to the loss of my job. The fears still came true. Plus, strength, health and interest in work are lost.
To develop, get promoted and be an individual, do not forget about your own interests. When you start a job, you receive a job description that spells out your obligations. For high-quality completion of tasks you receive a certain salary. There is no charge for additional workload, so stand up for your rights. How to say “no” to your boss?
- Don't be shy about talking about your workload. The manager instructs you to complete a task without understanding what you are doing. Explain that you cannot begin the task because you are preparing a report, preparing documents for the bank, or writing a procedure. This technique is called “yes, but no.” The boss will draw conclusions and assign the task to any employee or release you from your current work.
- Ask questions and clarify. After the boss has made a request, clarify the details. How urgently the task is required, what the result is, how important this task is. Then ask what to do with your current job. Let the manager evaluate which task is more important and give clear recommendations.
If you have to combine several tasks, ask if there is a bonus. The boss must understand that additional work is paid.
- Propose another candidate. A boss who took office a week ago will need time to get his bearings. As a result, the employee who is sitting next to you or has gained a reputation for being trouble-free will receive strange tasks: make coffee, call a taxi, book train tickets. Tell your manager that you do not perform such functions, but provide the number of the employee responsible for purchasing tickets or calling a taxi.
- Ask for help. There are force majeure situations. You are summing up the year. And during this period the legislation has changed and it is necessary to obtain new documents or re-issue certificates. Saying “no” to your boss in such a situation is stupid. As a specialist, you understand what penalties will follow for non-compliance. In this case, you agree, but ask for an assistant. Be sure to explain for what purposes the person is needed.
- . If behind reliability there is a fear of losing your job, then get over yourself. To do this, conduct an internal monologue. Make a tentative list of consequences after refusal. Work out actions for each. If you are fired, write a resume and send it to competing companies. If the manager yells, listen and calmly give reasons for the refusal. This way you will overcome your fears and be ready for any decision your manager makes.
Saying “no” to your boss is easier than it seems at first glance. The main thing is to understand why you want to refuse. This is laziness, unwillingness to help the boss, personal hostility towards the manager, or really necessity.
The boss puts a lot of extra work on you and makes you spend the night in the office. How to refuse and still remain on the list of the best employees?
First of all, look around. Do all your colleagues stay late after work or did the boss choose only you as the weak link? In the first case, you will have to choose: join the workers or leave the company, since it will be difficult to fight corporate ideals.
Analyze
If your colleague calmly refuses additional responsibilities and goes home exactly at 6 pm, while you agree to overtime, think about why you were the victim. Most likely, you want to gain respect and trust from your superiors and are afraid of showing yourself as a disloyal employee. However, by meekly agreeing to any orders from the boss, you only demonstrate the lack of your own position.
As a rule, the person who is assigned additional work has characteristic personal characteristics. He chooses a similar model of behavior not only in the office, but also outside it. This is an insecure person who is afraid of failure and initially puts himself in the position of a victim. It happens that he doesn’t say anything yet, but is already ready to ask for forgiveness. My first advice to such people is to work on themselves.
If you are not satisfied with something, do not be afraid to sort things out. In the end, the light did not fall like a wedge on one company.
Put it in place
It would be a good idea to ask the employer during the interview whether the company accepts overtime and how it is paid. Learn to say “no” right away. It is possible that your boss will test you for reliability in the very first weeks of work, so you must immediately show that you are not ready to take on super-tasks, except in cases of force majeure.
“I got a job at the company as an assistant to a PR manager,” says Inna. - I had no experience, and I was just happy that I was hired by such a cool agency! I tried to prove myself from the best side: I agreed to any job, as long as they noticed me. Over time, other employees paid attention to me, but this was not the attention I was expecting: they simply began asking me to do someone else’s work. The final disappointment came at the end of the month, when I was given a meager salary. I went to complain to the boss, and in response they told me: “Everything was discussed at the interview, but if you don’t like something, you can always leave.” That’s why I left.”
If you immediately make it clear to your boss that you know how to refuse, in the future he will not have the desire to pester you with tasks outside your area of responsibility. Of course, you must assure your boss that you are always ready to help in case of a crisis and look at overtime exclusively positively, as long as it does not harm your main job. There are production situations when standing up and answering the boss: “My working day is over, I’m no longer working” is funny. If something emergency happens that goes beyond the usual routine, you need to show loyalty and subordinate your personal desires to teamwork.
Give reasons
Don't be afraid to ask your colleagues for help. Take a closer look at how they learned to moderate their boss’s appetites. Let them tell you how they managed to put the boss in his place.
If your boss comes to you with an order to overwork, choose the right arguments in response. This evidence must be clear and obvious. The manager needs to realize that if you take on additional responsibility, the entire department and even the company will suffer. Say that you already have work that you want to do efficiently and on time. As you take on new responsibilities, quality will give way to quantity. Ask him: “Which task is your priority: the one I did before, or the one you are offering me now?” Once you know your priorities, you can focus entirely on completing one of them.
Bargain
“I suffered for a long time from my boss’s nagging,” says programmer Evgeniy. - No sooner had I completed one project than they gave me a new one, and they set such deadlines that I was forced to work at home and at night in the office in order to at least get anything done. My vision completely deteriorated, I stopped getting enough sleep, my wife kept nagging. In the end I couldn’t stand it and went to complain to my boss. He said the following: “When I got a job, you promised me an 8-hour working day. I'm not lazy, you know, but for some reason I have to be in the office until 11 pm. Is it possible for me to somehow reduce the load? The next time, the boss didn't just order me to do something, but asked if I could do it. I replied that I’m busy right now, but I’ll definitely take a look as soon as I’m free. Then I talked to the boss again and said that I was ready to take on any work, but during my working day. Then he simply offered me a salary increase - as it turned out, there were no others willing to work for two in the company.”
If overtime has become the norm, you need to discuss the situation with your boss. You can agree to delays, but then it makes sense to negotiate the terms under which you will work. For example, you can agree on the benefits that you will receive for working extra hours - time off, flexible hours, shortened working hours, etc. Or get a bonus for your work. I would advise all employees to be sure to study the Labor Code - all the conditions for overtime and remuneration are clearly stated there. Another option is to calmly refuse your boss’s request, reminding him of your rights, employment contract and job description. Don't be categorical or harsh. Remember the conversation at the interview, try to explain to your boss that you are not ready to change the terms of the employment contract. Show calm and confidence. You are not attached to this company forever, and the boss understands this, and therefore is ready to make concessions.
Don't be afraid to refuse
Otherwise they will just sit on your neck. At the same time, do not apologize or make excuses, but confidently and politely present ready-made arguments. But remember that they must be undeniable.
