negotiating at work

What is Negotiating at Work?

Negotiating at work is more common than most people realize, but one of the most significant negotiations most of us deal with is around salary.

What are the essential ingredients to getting ahead in the workplace? Hard work, communication skills, and a generous dose of luck all play a role, of course. However, another important key ingredient—the one that is often overlooked—is the ability to recognize and capitalize on opportunities for negotiating at work for your future career success.

Even so, the question of how to negotiate salary seems to preoccupy negotiators more than any other negotiation topic—and with good reason, considering how dramatically even a slight salary increase can impact our lifetime earnings. Unfortunately, we may fail to recognize opportunities for negotiating at work, focusing only on our weaknesses, and making the first concessions in our own heads before the negotiation even begins.

But whether it’s salary, dealing with difficult coworkers, discussing a new role, or other issues, negotiating at work can help us increase opportunities, flexibility, and support in the workspace. Negotiation holds the key to getting ahead in the workplace, resolving conflicts, and creating value in contracts. 

Don’t forget, as well, that negotiating at work may give us opportunities to lift less powerful parties up along with ourselves—and we may not need to make a personal financial sacrifice to do so.

Discover how to refine your negotiation skills with this free special report, Salary Negotiations: How to Negotiate Salary: Learn the Best Techniques to Help You Manage the Most Difficult Salary Negotiations and What You Need to Know When Asking for a Raise, from Harvard Law School.

We will send you a download link to your copy of the report and notify you by email when we post new advice and information on how to improve your business negotiation skills to our website.

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