BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

When You Need To Over-Communicate With Your Boss

This article is more than 3 years old.

By: Ivna Curi

Communicating effectively is not just for leaders and managers. Employees also need to communicate well if they want to meet their own needs, especially during a crisis.

Sometimes employees rely too much on their bosses for their well-being. They expect their boss to guess what they want and need, and to give it to them without asking for it.

Managers may under-communicate or communicate poorly when uncertainty grows and confidence declines. They may be facing crisis management for the first time, may not have adequate training, or may not know what to say.

Even if managers are good communicators, they cannot guess the specific questions and issues an employee has. It is up to the employees to ensure they have the information they need, negotiate, and advocate for themselves. Employees should not blame the boss if they are not expressing themselves or being assertive.

Women are more affected by increased family responsibilities and financial pressure caused by COVID-19, but tend to speak up and advocate less for themselves at work. 

How can employees meet their needs if their boss and company do not communicate effectively with them? 

They can take the lead and guide their managers into the difficult conversations that matter. That way, employees can meet their needs and help their managers prepare for critical conversations with the rest of the team.

[Related: A Year-Round Guide to Self-Advocacy]

When to over-communicate with your boss.

It is crucial to over-communicate when three situations occur: significant changes, significant uncertainty, and significant impact.

In this pandemic, most of us are living through all three situations at the same time.

You may face different challenges around changes, uncertainty, and impact than your manager. If you do not speak up, your boss will make decisions under the assumption that you do not have any specific challenges.

Significant changes.

Significant changes are happening to our schedules, work environments, plans, childcare, and daily routines. Many of the changes are completely new, undesirable, and challenging, such as learning web-based technologies, helping anxious employees, and dealing with managers who may be micromanaging more but communicating less of what matters.

In addition, most of the changes affect other people. Changes to your company’s IT systems affect your ability to work efficiently. Changes to your spouse’s schedule affect your schedule. Changes to your boss’s workflow affect your workflow. That is why alignment is even more important.

[Related: Don't Lose Sight of What You are Called For]

Significant uncertainty.

You may be asking yourself questions like:

  • Will I be able to keep my job?
  • Will I be able to keep my salary?
  • Will I be safe at work?
  • Will my family be safe?
  • What does my boss expect from me?
  • When will I need to work from home or return to the office?
  • What happens if I get sick?
  • Will I get extra leave of absence if a family member gets sick?

Uncertainty is greater than ever about how long the pandemic will last, what will happen to you, when schools and business will re-open, and what you can expect from healthcare, government aid, job security, financial health, and access to invested retirement accounts.

Significant impact.

Not only are we experiencing significant routine changes to our lives, but many are also experiencing significant impact. For example, the impact of a lost job, reduced salary, lost savings, physical distancing from loved ones, or serious illness.

The significant uncertainty, changes, and impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can create feelings of fear, hopelessness, and overwhelm. In exceptional circumstances such as during the pandemic, be a leader for your own needs, own your work experience, and over-communicate with your boss.

If you are not getting enough support from your manager, start the conversation. That way, you will ease your pain through the hard times and make informed decisions for your career and well-being.

[Related: How to Lead When You Don’t Feel Leader-ly]

Ivna Curi, INSEAD MBA, is the founder of AssertiveWay.com, an organization focused on empowering professionals to be more assertive at work through confident, candid, and caring conversations. You can take a free class on how to be assertive without being rude or sign up for her weekly newsletter at www.assertiveway.com.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website