Boundariesintermediate
The Workload Dumper
Someone keeps volunteering you for work that isn't yours.
Practice this out loud, free
No account needed. We email you a link, then you talk by voice.
The situation
A peer regularly says things like "Oh, [my name] can handle that" in meetings, committing me to work without asking. When I push back, they say they're just trying to help or that I'm the best person for it. I need to stop this pattern.
Who you will be talking to: Limit-Testing Colleague
They'll be charming and may laugh it off or minimize what they're doing. Expect plausible deniability ("I was just joking"), social pressure, and testing whether you'll hold firm.
What tends to work
- Be direct about the boundary — charm shouldn't soften your "no"
- Don't explain or justify your boundary more than once
- Watch for them reframing your boundary as you being "difficult" or "uptight"
One way to open: “I need to be straightforward about something that's been happening, because I don't think hints are getting through.”
Say it out loud, then see what you said
Reading about a hard conversation is not the same as having it. You talk to an AI counterpart by voice, like a phone call, and afterwards get a scorecard that quotes your own words: what helped, and what to try next time.