Should You Stay Silent or Speak Up?

What do you do when you’ve been disrespected on the job, disagree with your boss, or feel like you’re wasting your time and talents on the job?

Should you speak up and risk rocking the boat or stay silent and maintain the status quo?

Both options can be a valid response, depending on the circumstances. The trick is understanding your situation and knowing what’s best for you and your career.

Take the following factors into consideration.

Unethical practices. If you believe that your company or manager are engaged in unethical or immoral behavior you likely will want to speak up. However, be careful to avoid accusations that might inflame the situation. You can begin conversations with “It seems to me that …” or “It appears we …” but it’s probably better to bring the discussion to your Human Resources department, rather than with your boss (particularly if you believe he or she is knowingly involved in unethical behavior).

A strong emotional response. If the situation is provoking intense feelings, such as anger or frustration, it will be helpful to bring this up. However, it’s how you bring this up that is important. In the midst of intense reactions, it can be best to remain silent and wait until you feel more in control of your words. Rather than defuse a situation or clarify a misunderstanding, responding in anger can make things worse, delaying or preventing a positive resolution.

Disagreements on the job. If you believe that your skills are not being used properly or you disagree on the direction of a project that is an indication that you’ll want to engage your manager or coworker in a conversation. This is not a time to be haughty or rude but to clearly lay out the reasons behind your disagreement and seek to bring understanding to the situation.

It’s often easier to remain silent on the job or to respond in anger to a situation but it’s important to your career development to deepen your skills at resolving conflicts and knowing when and how to communicate effectively.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: What to Do When You and Your Boss Aren't Getting Along

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• What to Do When You and Your Boss Aren't Getting Along: "Am I working on the issues that my boss wants me to be working on, in the way they want me to be working on them? Have I been disregarding their feedback?"
• 10 Powerful Ways to Empower Your Employees: "Contrary to conventional wisdom, boundaries don't restrict team members; they empower them.
• The 4 Attributes You Must Develop to Achieve Everything You Want in Life: "If you finally want to live with more intention and purpose in your life or become an entrepreneur now and not later, then your extraordinary life is on the other side of your life-planning design process."
• Want Your Resume to Stand Out? Try This One Tactic: "Try getting back to basics. Work on a carefully crafted resume that highlights your results as well as your authenticity."
• How to Become the Leader You Need to Be: "Millennials are turning up ready to take their positions in management, but leadership doesn’t come easy and organizations could suffer as a result."

7 Ways to Disagree with Your Boss . . . Without Losing Your Job

Most managers don't want someone who will simply go along with everything they say. Most likely, they hired you for your expertise, knowledge, and the value you can bring to the team. However, just because they want your opinion, that does not mean you can speak it freely, however and whenever you want.

Remember, if you are not contributing to the organization then you become expendable and irrelevant. You just need to find the proper balance. These seven strategies will help you diplomatically and professionally voice your disagreements with your boss.

• Establish a dialog with your boss from day one. Clarify and adopt your boss' and the organization's goals, objectives, and priorities. Ask your boss how they prefer to receive ideas or concerns. Be prepared by being informed.
• Back your concerns or ideas with facts. Do your research and come to the discussion about your disagreement backed with measurable value that can be attained by making modifications to policy or procedure that you are proposing.
• Don't approach disagreements head-on. Use "what if" scenarios or say "Can I make a suggestion?"  This approach is much less contentious and less likely to put your boss on the defensive.
• Pick your battles. Before you air a disagreement, ask yourself: Is this worth the effort and potential conflict? If you see the company losing money or going against its values and you want to air a concern, that is valid. However, don't nitpick.
• Carefully choose your battleground. There is an appropriate time and place to bring up a disagreement with your boss. In a meeting with a large group or with your boss' boss is not the best place. During crunch time of a critical deadline that is stressing your boss out is not the best time. You may have to wait, but the reception will be much more positive.
• Never disagree with the sole motivation of promoting yourself. If you can not honestly state a reason that the disagreement will help the company better attain its goals, then you should not air the issue. Disagreeing just to be noticed is not the best way to get ahead.
• Know when to throw in the towel. There will be battles that you can not win, no matter how well you present your case. Be diplomatic and walk away once your boss has made the decision. Never look back and say "I told you so."