Hack Your 9 to 5 Workshop Series: Saying No at Work Without Guilt

Welcome to the Hack Your 9-5 Workshop Series 2.0

A practical workshop series designed for working professionals navigating today’s fast-changing and demanding work environment.

This in-person workshop is designed to help working professionals respond to requests more confidently, manage competing priorities, and protect their workload without sounding unhelpful or difficult.

In the real world, saying no at work is rarely as simple as refusing a task. The request may come from your manager, a senior stakeholder, a client, or a colleague who genuinely needs support. You may already be overloaded, but still worry that pushing back could affect how you are perceived or the opportunities you receive.

As a result, many professionals say yes before fully understanding the request, checking their capacity, or considering what other work may need to move. Over time, this can lead to missed deadlines, lower-quality work, longer hours, and frustration that could have been avoided through a clearer conversation.

This session will help you think beyond a simple yes or no. You will learn how to clarify requests, make trade-offs visible, negotiate scope and timelines, and propose workable alternatives while staying professional and respectful.

Seats are very limited. Please register only if you are able to attend the full session. 

📅 Date: 9 September 2026, Wednesday
📍 Venue: Room2f, Bras Basah Complex #04-07, 231 Bain Street, Singapore 180231 (Nearest MRT: City Hall) 
⏰ Time: Registration from 6.30pm, Workshop from 7.00pm to 9.00pm (please arrive by 6.50pm)

Saying No at Work Without Guilt

Saying no at work does not always mean rejecting the work. Sometimes it means asking for clarity, adjusting the scope, moving the deadline, sharing ownership, or asking which existing priority should be deprioritised.

This session is designed to help you manage workplace requests more realistically, communicate your capacity clearly, and respond without automatically accepting more than you can reasonably deliver.

What You Will Learn

● Understand why saying no feels difficult, especially when requests come from senior colleagues or managers
● Recognise the hidden cost of saying yes too quickly
● Learn how to assess a request before committing to it
● Identify whether the real issue is timing, scope, ownership, support, or priority
● Learn how to communicate workload trade-offs without sounding defensive
● Explore practical ways to negotiate deadlines, reduce scope, share ownership, or redirect work
● Respond more calmly when someone pushes back on your boundary
● Build one practical response you can use in a recurring workplace situation

Why You Should Attend

● Practical strategies designed for real workplace situations and power dynamics
● A structured way to respond when a direct no is not realistic
● Useful language for discussing workload, priorities, and capacity
● Guided activities based on common workplace requests and competing deadlines
● A supportive space to practise responding without over-explaining or feeling guilty
● Clear next steps you can apply immediately with managers, colleagues, and stakeholders