Business Guru Shares 8 Ways To Tell Someone Off At Work Without Getting Fired
Sometimes passive-aggression is the only way to get your message across.
fizkes | Shutterstock We've all been there about a million times — something goes down at the office with a coworker and you don't know what to say, because what you'd usually say in this situation would get you immediately dragged to HR and handed a termination letter. So what do you say instead? One work culture expert has some perfect ideas.
Chris Donnelly is a content creator and workplace expert who focuses on leadership, corporate culture, and other aspects of our careers. In a recent TikTok, he shared eight examples of the kind of passive-aggressive phrases that are necessary at work when you need to put a colleague in their place.
Here are 8 ways to tell off your coworkers without getting fired:
1. 'Per my last email…'
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Ah yes, a classic of the genre, the phrase that perfectly, expertly says, "I'm sorry, do you not know how to read and if so how did you even get this job?!" Or as Donnelly explained it, "What it really translates to is you didn't [explitive] read it, did you?" No, they didn't. And that's not your problem!
2. 'To reiterate...'
Translation: "This is the corporate way of saying, 'This is your last chance, I'm not [explitive] saying this again," Donnelly explained. It's the office version of that narrow-eyed look your mom would give you while she was talking on the phone and you wouldn't stop acting up. You know the one.
3. 'I've CC'd [enter name here]...'
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Oh yes! This is a classic, a total power move that says, "I will burn your entire life to the ground and salt the earth on which it stood if you continue on this course."
Back in my waiting tables days, I had a manager who would tell people, "If you like we can chat about it with Linda at corporate, but that will be uncomfortable for you." This is the office-job version of that, and it's perfect.
4. 'Thank you for your input.'
Nothing says "You are literally the stupidest person I've ever met in my entire life and I couldn't possibly care less about what you have to say if I made it the sole and solitary goal of the rest of my existence" quite like "thank you for your input." It's the polite, corporate-approved way of saying, "Shut the entire, comprehensive, unabridged [redacted] Uup, Janice!" (You know how Janice gets.)
5. 'As a reminder…'
"This roughly translates to 'in case you forgot, which you definitely did,'" Donnelly explained. If there was a workplace-appropriate way of saying, "Make me say this again and I will rain hell down upon every cubicle in this place until nothing remains but ash," this is it.
6. 'Respectfully…'
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This might be the best one of all because it just plain means the opposite of what it says. Or as Donnelly explained it, "Don't let this one fool you. It actually means sit the [explitive] down." Yes, yes it does, and it's poetry. Respectfully.
7. 'Moving forward….'
"This is a masterpiece of layers," Donnelly said. Perhaps no phrase says so much while saying so little. These two little words are stand-ins for "this is your final chance, don't try me again."
8. 'Best regards…'
Yeah, just as an FYI, this is corporate code for, "I hate your guts and hope you and your entire bloodline never know peace." It sounds good though, and as we all know, plausible deniability is the lifeblood of any corporate environment!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.