The 13 Scariest Things You Can Hear at Work
Publié le 31 October 2022
Learn how you can stop a frightful day at the office by avoiding the 13 scariest things you can hear at work.
Halloween means a frightfully good time of costumes, fun-sized candies and pumpkin-flavoured everything. In honour of the end of spooky season, it’s time to take a closer look at the 13 scariest things you can hear at work.
The 13 Scariest Things You Can Hear at Work
- You’re presenting at the next meeting.
- You’ll be reporting to [NAME] from now on.
- Can you stay late?
- You’re onboarding the new hires.
- How quickly can you learn this?
- Mandatory meeting.
- Surprise CEO visit!
- Did you mean to CC everyone?
- Your mic is still on.
- You have to boost your productivity.
- When was the last time somebody cleaned the coffee maker?
- You should be grateful to work here.
- We need to talk.
“You’re presenting at the next meeting.”
What’s the most common fear? Spiders? Sharks? Heights? Believe it or not, the most common fear is actually public speaking, with as many as 75% of people citing it as their number one fright. The thought of standing in front of a crowd of strangers and speaking is enough to terrify many people. This is why having to present at a big meeting is one of the scariest things you can hear at work. Shyness is very common, and even people who don’t consider themselves shy can still feel apprehensive about being the sole focus of attention. When there is a need for a presentation or an interview, it’s important the people have adequate time to prepare and feel comfortable. Employees need to know that they are being asked to present because they have something important and sharing it with the workplace will help improve it.
“You’ll be reporting to [NAME] from now on.”
The internal structure of a business should be subject to periodic review and reassessment, especially if the workflow is proving to be ineffective or counterproductive. That being said, it can still be stressful for workers who have to adapt to new styles of leadership and management. Good leaders play an undeniably important role in the workplace, but an ineffectual manager can grind the workplace to a stop. If a new manager insists on implementing new strategies and processes without first consulting the workforce to assess their needs and expectations, it will result in a slowdown as people adjust. Even worse, if a new boss is prone to micromanaging, it will lead to frustration, poor work and a decline in productivity. This is why HR managers should always look to hire people who already possess strong leadership skills and allow them to grow effectively into the role in the workplace.
“Can you stay late?”
The biggest struggle for many professionals over the past few years is trying to find a better work-life balance. The pandemic and the resulting boom in remote and hybrid working arrangements have resulted in less separation between work time and personal. People have found themselves working longer hours to the detriment of their own health and well-being. Being asked to stay late and complete more work can disrupt the work-life balance that has been created. Many jurisdictions now have laws in effect restricting the demands that can be made on employees outside of agreed-upon working hours. Hopefully, this means that workers can take time to themselves without the jolt of fear of seeing an incoming text message from their boss.
“You’re onboarding the new hires.”
A growing and successful company will always look to expand their workforce with qualified job candidates. Part of ensuring that new hires enter the business on the best possible terms is creating a smooth and effective onboarding process. The training and onboarding process is not something that everyone enjoys, however, as it involves a great deal of responsibility and a serious time commitment. Company leaders, HR managers and existing employees should all collaborate to design an onboarding process that provides the right training and shares the responsibility of mentorship among the staff. This will ensure that new hires get the knowledge they need to be successful, and existing employees can contribute to the process in a useful manner.
“How quickly can you learn this?”
Continuous learning is one of the primary keys to success in all jobs and industries. Leaders should do everything possible to encourage a learning culture and mindset in the workplace. However, this does not mean pushing employees through training as quickly as possible. Learning new procedures, programs and approaches takes time, and this must be acknowledged and respected. If employees feel stressed and pressured to learn quickly, there is a high likelihood that they will miss important parts of the processes, resulting in error and slowdowns when trying to implement new techniques.
“Mandatory meeting.”
Meetings have an important role to play in the workforce. It is an opportunity to share information, set goals and strengthen professional bonds in the workforce. That being said, unnecessary and overly long meetings have a major negative impact on productivity, leading to bored and unenergized employees. These are often used to deliver bad news, including layoffs and restructuring. Instead of vague announcements about mandatory meetings, leaders should do everything possible to streamline meetings and provide an itinerary beforehand.
“Surprise CEO visit!”
When company higher-ups drop in for an unexpected visit, it is likely to create stress and uncertainty in the workplace. This is especially true in large companies, with distant leadership unfamiliar with most of the workforce. It is always a good idea for leaders to build professional relationships with employees on every level of the business, and to have a knowledge of what is happening on a day-to-day basis. This way, the image of a distant boss arriving to disrupt the workday, peer over the shoulders of employees and deliver negative announcements can be avoided.
“Did you mean to CC everyone?”
Email is the most common form of business communication. The average person sends 40 emails per day while at work, which is 200 per week or 800 per month. With this sheer volume of words being sent out, it’s inevitable that a mistake will slip through. While a typo or two is normal, learning that an email was sent to the wrong person is one of the scariest things you can hear at work. A message going to the wrong person can be embarrassing and accidentally reveal sensitive information. Keeping all email messages professional and double-checking the recipient can help avoid this fright.
“Your mic is still on.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and the dramatic increase in remote work meant that professionals in all industries had to adapt to virtual meetings almost overnight. As video calls took over everyone’s professional life, there certainly were some mistakes along the way. Despite the amount of practice everyone has now undertaken; it is still possible to leave a microphone on during a meeting when it really should be muted. Finding out the colleagues heard your dog barking, or you mutter under your breath is not an enjoyable experience, so be sure to all practice proper virtual call etiquette.
“You have to boost your productivity.”
Every business wants productivity to be at its peak. Completing the most work possible and helping the greatest number of clients is an effective way to grow a business. The problem is when the responsibility for the growth or decline or productivity falls solely on employees. The great majority of employees are putting all their effort into their jobs and want to do everything possible to meet these goals. If productivity is a frequent issue, it should be taken as a sign that the current workflow and procedures are ineffective. These should be reviewed to remove redundancies and be as straightforward as possible. When employees have the right tools and a clear path to follow, productivity has a much greater chance of improving.
“When was the last time somebody cleaned the coffee maker?”
Working in a shared workspace requires cooperation and support. Nobody wants to work in a dirty or messy environment. The responsibility for maintaining a clean workspace should be shared by everyone, as working together will make it seem much less of a chore. That being said, it’s possible for one chore to slip through the cracks occasionally. If something in the office kitchen is starting to smell a little funky, it should be taken care of immediately to avoid an even worse fright after the next weekend.
“You should be grateful to work here.”
Every workplace should be based on mutual respect. Employees bring valuable skills into each organization, and the continued success of the business depends on their continued hard work. It would be incorrect for company leaders to insinuate that employees need to be more grateful for the opportunity, as it takes the effort of all employees on every level to keep a company successful. If employees are not feeling respected or appreciated, there is a strong possibility they will leave their job for another role and take their skills with them. By ensuring that employees know they are valued, businesses will have a low turnover rate and help create an environment where employees want to do their best.
“We need to talk.”
These are the four words that no employees want to hear. Truly one of the scariest things you can hear at work, this phrase immediately conjures images of layoffs and admonishments, or at the very least a negative performance review. Instead, leaders should create a workplace based on open communication where everyone is free to discuss all issues honestly. This way employees will be aware of any problems that may need to be addressed, and it will not be such a shock when a supervisor needs to review the latest project.
Now that you know the 13 scariest things you can hear at work, do everything you can to avoid them and save the frights for Halloween night!
