A career coach has gone viral with a video on how to stop apologizing at work – but some insist saying ‘sorry’ is appropriate in some situations.
New York-based coach Sam DeMase, who shares her content on the A Power Mood Instagram account, provided her followers with sentences to say instead of apologizing.
Under her guidance, ‘Sorry I’m late’ becomes ‘Thank you for waiting’ and ‘Sorry I’ve messed that up’ is swapped for ‘Thank you for the feedback’.
Sam claimed that by changing the language you use, you will appear more confident, thus enhancing your career prospects.
While some applauded Sam’s approach, others argued that sometimes it’s necessary and appropriate to apologize, especially if you’re running late, and branded her suggestions ‘passive aggressive’.
Sam, pictured, an US-based career coach who dispenses career advice on Instagram under the name A Power Mood, gave examples on how to stop saying sorry at work in a viral video
Sam counts more than 164,000 followers on her page where she dispenses free career advice, from how to negotiate a pay rise to résumé essentials.
In her video, which was liked more than 780.000 times on the social media platform, Sam explains to her follower ‘How to replace the word “sorry” at work like a boss.’
‘These small changes make a big difference to your confidence and impact,’ she said.
In the video, the coach went through four different scenario where an employee might normally feel compelled to apologize to their boss.
Sam, pictured, said not saying sorry as much i the workplace would boost employees’ confidence
In the first scenario, being late for a meeting, Sam claimed that instead of saying ‘Sorry I’m late,’ the employee should say ‘Thank you for your patience, I appreciate it’.
She added that people shouldn’t say ‘Sorry I’ve messed that up,’ when they’ve made a mistake, and instead reply with ‘Thanks for the info, I will get up to speed on that.’
In another instance, she said it was better to reply ‘Thank you for the feedback, I’ll get on it next time,’ rather than ‘Sorry I’ll do better next time.
The last example pertained to asking an employer a question.
The coach, pictured, also advised to swap ‘I’ll do better next time’ with ‘thank you for the feedback’
Sam said that instead of startnig with ‘Sorry to bug you,’ it looks more confident to ask, ‘Is now a good time to ask a question?’
Her Instagram video was taken with a pinch of salt by some of her followers.
While some applauded her confident approach, others claims she came off as ‘passive-aggressive.’
Some also said apologizing was appropriate in certain circumstances.
‘Sometimes saying sorry is the right thing to do though. Especially if people had to work more because of your mistakes,’ one said.
Instead of apologizing for ‘messing up,’ Sam advised you should say thank you and that will get up to speed on the matter
When asking an employer for a question, Sam said it was better to spin it in a positive way rather than apologizing
‘If you are late to a meeting you apologize. Be respectful of other people’s time. They didn’t wait for you because they wanted to especially if it’s your staff, you’re basically holding them hostage . Sometimes sorry is appropriate,’ another said.
‘These just come off as passive aggressive, as if you would never to need to apologize. Being sorry does not show weakness it shows humility and humbleness. Idk I’ve never worked in an office if it’s really this egotistical that’s insane,’ one wrote.
‘How to be less human at work,’ another sneered.
‘Only the last situation does not need an apology. The other scenarios do need an apology,’ another said.
‘Not apologizing for being late to a meeting is so unacceptable no matter your level because it implies your time it more valuable than theirs. You absolutely should apologize in that scenario because you are late and have taken up their time. What terrible advice,’ one wrote.
While some people loved Sam’s video, others said apologizing was sometimes appropriate and even needed