The commonly abused word in the workplace

Post date: Jun 5, 2017 6:23:44 AM

By: Amorsolo P. Reyes

My preferred definition of “common sense” is from Collins; “our natural ability to make good judgments and behave in a practical and sensible way”. It defines what people would do in appropriate settings.

Though there are many definitions, the fact still remains. It is used by the coastal elites, dunderhead persons to embarrass someone who they believe belongs to the marginal group.

Sadly this word is commonly abused in everyday situations. But what’s worst it happens in the workplace. The word “common sense” is used to embarrass or belittle another to highlight that a person should know what to do in a given situation because it only requires “common sense”.

The bandwagon of people using common sense as a means to humiliate people who they believed are mediocre to their kind according to Jim Taylor Ph.D. word in his article “Common Sense is Neither Common nor Sense” is the one who don’t have the real knowledge, expertise, or direct experience to make a sound judgments

Another commonly abused workplace word is “busy”. In my almost fifteen years of service in the government, I always encounter this kind of situation; a very busy person thinking that he is the busiest of them all. And he has all the right in the world not to make the deadline. He is in the business for more than three years but keeps on making the alibi “I am busy”.

In my own point of view, this is what should be done; analyze your task, learn the do’s & don’t, learn the highs & lows, know the deadline, cooperate with your co-worker, be a team player and formulate a system that will serve as a tool in the execution of the job. The suitability of the before mentioned facts will determine the fate of your job. Will it be a brilliant feat of success or an epic failure.

So let’s be careful when we say we’re busy that we’re not making excuses for our inefficiency.