Conversations you shouldn’t be afraid to have with your boss
In Asian culture, we might feel a bit shy to ask for things from people of authority – but this should not be the case at the office.
According to a Glassdoor survey, it is not just in Asia that people feel uncomfortable to have requests at work. Other than promotions and pay raise, there are other factors that employees wish to know such as work-life balance, business outlook, leadership, culture, and values.
Let’s look at the type of conversations you can have with your superiors without feeling uncomfortable.
Flexible schedules
Need to take your family member to the hospital or even help at your kid’s school event? These situations can occur at any time during office hours.
If the event does not require you to take a half- or full-day’s leave, you may wish to ask for time off from your boss instead, especially if this is not a common occurrence.
Or, if you wish to take all your leave in one shot, you can work out a plan with your boss for the time you will be away.
If your boss is skeptical about giving you some schedule flexibility, ask him to voice out his concerns and let you find ways to manage them.
With a highly-connected environment, there is no reason why we cannot work remotely as long as there is a stable internet connection.
Career opportunities
If you wish to go far in your current company, you may want to start planning a career progression. Seek out a meeting with your boss and let him know your intentions.
You can ask him for more ways to develop your skills and network by asking for more projects, or even discuss your strengths and weaknesses to improve your capabilities.
Likewise, you can ask for recommendations for a mentor from your supervisor, who can guide you in achieving your career goals. Or, your boss can suggest key leaders follow in the industry on social media such as LinkedIn.
Regular Feedback
Performance appraisals usually come twice a year. To be more current on your performance, you can ask for more personalised and frequent feedback from your boss.
Whether it is a quarterly review or sending a quick update through e-mail, any feedback is better than none.
It can help streamline your performance and highlight areas for you to improve on. Other than work, it can also point you to areas such as soft skills to improve on.
By being proactive, it pushes you to step out of your comfort zone to take the initiative to ask for more and take ownership of your career.
