At work - do you just ‘get on with it’ if you disagree with an idea or do you share your opinion?

[iguano88]

Curious to see what others do

My manager and colleague are really keen to embark on a new project. I have done similar in the past and don’t think it will work and think it will be a waste of resources and time, and that energies are better spent elsewhere in an other area where output will be maximum. I have done a version of their idea before in a different organisation and it flopped. Because of the nature of the work, it will go the same way. I can almost be certain. We have an alternative we could pursue which would be far and away better and is proven, they just want to try the ‘new’ thing.

I would be happier directing my efforts into something I feel is productive and making a positive difference, I feel frustrated knowing this likely won’t and finding it hard to display or maintain any interest towards it.

So far I’ve just nodded along to stuff as I am relatively new compared to them, but I’m wondering if I should say something or if they will think I am just being cynical or trying to take charge?

What would you do in a similar situation?

I think if you can provide numbers and evidence of what went wrong and why (if it's that sort of project) that would be useful info for the team to consider. However if they already know you've done a project that didn't work and still want to go ahead I wouldn't go on about it.

Depends what you'd be working on otherwise?

My job is a waste of time 95% of the time but there's no point complaining because nothing changes

So I just take the salary and accept it

I'd speak up but when managers have tunnel vision, they often take it as a personal attack to meet dissent, so I'd frame it in terms of previous experience helping identify potential pitfalls in advance - if they then start listening because you're helping, rather than 'being negative' (meaning realistic), you could encourage the more tested option.

And if they're still determined, roll your eyes privately and get on with it as they're paying your bills and if they want to fuck things up, it's on their head and they can't blame you for not getting on board with it or for not doing anything to let them know ahead of the fuck up.

To be honest I’ve done a variety of things in a similar situation. It depended int he personalities involved and how much evidence I had to back up what I said.

One place I just straight up left as the Director had an ego the size of a planet and was determined to plough regardless of anything anyone said and also in the face of obvious warning signs. If you work with those kind of people I think you’ll know already.

Someone who did speak up was made redundant about a year later. They had been there for a long time on very good terms and they basically restructured the whole office to get rid of him. He got good redundancy terms and then some money at tribunal but it wasn’t nice.

Another place was about to embark on something that a previous workplace had had a disaster with, one which I had been hired to try to fix. I had some pretty telling stats for that, plus I think it helped that I hadn’t been the person delivering the project but the one fixing it.

They took it on board and changed tack. That said, I was pretty new there and it didn’t help a couple of relationships there and I didn’t stay very long. Don’t know how much that contributed but it didn’t help.

I also worked somewhere where they would have been absolutely horrified if anyone didn’t speak up with concerns. I didn’t have to speak up about anything personally but I saw others do it.

That was massively the culture there. As a result, people have a very professional and kind way of saying they thought something had issues, because no one got nervous and clashes of egos weren’t the thing there. Nearly everyone was very sensible. If you work at that kind of place you’d know it.

this

Its a good message to give but just needs to be carefully worded to balance the positives that you are happy to be working on this, with the negatives about your experience.
If the person is likely to be fair to your comment and receptive, a few positives first should be fine. But for you to post suggests you suspect they might hold it against you.
There is a sneaky option to layer on the positives by reversing the message. For example, I'm so glad to be working on this with you. At the last place I did similar it was such a shame it didn't work out so I'm looking forward to this one going right with you. Follow it up with scheduling some meetings in the future or making some future plans, so its clear you see this project in your future and have not suggested cancelling it. It has to be their idea.
I previously had a manager who took everything personally, hated anyone who displayed more experience than her (which was everyone) and if they changed their mind, it had to be their idea. Leaving stuff out on our desks was another trick we did so she steal it and gain the knowledge she was doing it wrong herself, without us having to impacting her ego.

I have learned to say nothing unless I am leading on the project and can make the decision to change course. It is never received well, only seen as obstructive, whereas keeping one's mouth shut brings no negative consequences.

I would have given a very different answer in my twenties, but I learned from experience and observation.

If you are not responsible for this new project, say nothing. Why should you?

Gone are the days of speaking up.

I let them get on with it and when it goes tits up, sit there thinking "well that's no bloody surprise."

It depends on how accountable I am for the final result.

Absolutely. Exjob embarked on a new department system in lockdown, so as well as doing our normal jobs we were expected to test the new system, and stressful wasn't the word. The training was woeful, some of the processes we were supposed to be able to do hadn't been explained to us or enabled, and any dissent (like pointing out how this wasn't working in a way it should be expected to work) was practically a warning issue.

I left. No idea if it all worked out but if I heard it all went tits up I wouldn't be surprised. As with all projects, the people who had to make this work day to day were the ones not consulted on its feasibility.