Wait, am I the a**hole?

Being "politically correct" could be hindering effective communication at work, says associate editor Chelsia Tan even though leaving the filter behind has caused her (and those around her) some grief.

A few years ago, I declared myself a “masochist” to a panel of interviewers during a job interview for a communications role at a local school in Singapore.

It was in response to a question about my career trajectory in the media industry, and why I wanted to make the switch from a more dynamic, creative environment, to a decidedly more bureaucratic one.

Unsurprisingly, I did not get the job. “Real smart decision-making there,” remarked my colleague. She could barely hold back an eye roll when I recounted my gaffe. I can’t explain why I said what I said: It might have been an attempt to defuse a stressful situation with an extremely dry sense of humour. But it certainly boils down to the fact that I’m rather fond of speaking plainly.

Admittedly, when your first instinct is to shoot from the hip, you’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. There have been instances where I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with co-workers who have taken offence over unfiltered feedback – one such episode resulted in a flurry of angry e-mails over my refusal to acquiesce to what I thought was a ridiculous request, which I had pointedly – ahem – pointed out.

Which got me thinking: Why aren’t we more open to those who say what they mean and mean what they say? It takes the guesswork out of figuring out what we are all thinking, even if we’d rather be anywhere but having this conversation right now.

Wouldn’t it be a time-saver at work to give feedback freely without worrying about hurt feelings? Perhaps we’d all shave minutes off meetings if the agenda did not also include erring on the side of political correctness.

NAVIGATING THE CULTURAL DIVIDE