The first time he barked at me, it was because I was in his office and didn’t know if I should sit or stand. He said, “Ife, sit.”
“Oh. Sorry.” I said and proceeded to pull out a chair.
#thread
“Why did you say sorry? Sorry for what exactly?”
I was confused,I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong but I also knew I had to respond.
“Sorry for standing sir,” I responded.
“Did I say I was offended?” He demanded to know.
“Stop saying sorry when you haven’t done anything wrong.” He said dismissively, his anger abated
That day, I didn’t understand him and assumed he was on drugs.
I later found the document and passed it along. On our way out, boss said,
Sigh... this ‘sorry’ issue again. I nodded and said, “Okay sir.”
He shook his head and smiled.
“Sorry for what Ife???
Ah tor! I was officially tired. I didn’t apologise, I was tired of his wahala, so I continued with what I was saying but this time, I omitted ‘sorry’
I didn’t like that. I had never cared about being liked, I thought.
It was an EYE OPENER.
I realised, apologising when we have done something wrong is real strength, but compulsive apologizing presents as a weakness at work,
So, I stopped. I stopped immediately because I didn’t want to be the woman who said sorry for nothing.
And today, apologising comes easy for me but it’s never a compulsive behaviour.
Just be respectful and DO YOUR JOB. Those who value you will and those who don’t won’t, no matter how meek you appear.