How to say 'no' at work without hurting your career

Don’t say ‘”yes” to more work just because you’re asked, especially if your plate is full and you could compromise your other work.

If you’re given a shorter-term ask and you have another fast-approaching deadline, tell your manager that you’d be happy to take on the additional project but in order to do it well, you’d need to deprioritize something else.

Ask them what they would like you to focus on.

Instead of refusing the work, you’re communicating your current workload and asking them to verbalize what should be prioritized.

This provides your manager with the context they need to decide what’s most important, and puts the decision of what gets cut or put on the back burner in their hands.

Write down everything on your to-do list and ask yourself if you’d be able to take on an additional project if you were asked at this moment.

If you can’t think of how to make room for it, you’re probably already at capacity.

Try proactively having a conversation with your manager about your workload so that they’re aware.

In the first quarter of 2026, workers mentioned burnout in Glassdoor reviews 2.5 times more often than they did before the pandemic.

In the midst of workplace changes, layoffs, and AI changing the pace of work, employees may be defaulting to taking on more.

But saying “yes” to more work when you are already at capacity could actually compromise the quality of your work and set you up for failure.

This insight is drawn from Business Insider reporting on how workers can say “no” at work, based on advice from etiquette experts Daniel Post Senning and Lizzie Post.

This story also includes data from a Glassdoor research post about how the workplace climate is burning workers out.