Office English / Saying no

Is it OK to say no at work?

I think it can be quite difficult to say no, because you don't want to let the other person down.

I think if we have all kind of agreed that we're doing something in a certain way, then it becomes easier to say, well, that's not what we agreed, so, no.

I definitely want to be able to help them. But also I've got to think about whether I've already got enough on my plate.

In today's episode of Office English, we're talking about boundaries. That's the limits of what's acceptable at work.

Hello! Welcome to a new series of Office English, your podcast guide to the world of work. I'm Pippa.

And I'm Phil. Find a transcript for this episode on our website: bbclearningenglish.com

So we've just heard from some of the BBC Learning English team about how they try to set boundaries at work. Phil, can you explain this idea of boundaries at work?

Okay, so when you start a job, you should be given a clear idea of the kind of things that are expected of you. What you have to do and things that are outside what your job is.

Yes. So setting boundaries is basically making sure that what you're being asked to do is within that original expectation that you got when you started the job.