womenswork - Jezebel

posts about #womenswork more →
The More Things Change...
“God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
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What Is "Women's Art"?
NY Times Columnist On Work/Life Balance: There Are "No Answers"
Women's Work
Love To Cook? You're Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't
If Stripping Doesn't Work Out, At Least I Still Have "Showgirls"

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KikiCanuck
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
I wonder how much of this is specific to women in secretary/assistant roles, and how much is just reflective of the degree to which asshole higher-ups will dump on those below them in the hierarchy. I worked for a woman who would frequently dispatch me to her home to do such things as make her son lunch (he was my age), and supervise the cleaning of her gutters. Her explanation of this behaviour? "In case you haven't noticed, you work for me." My job title? "Microbiologist." #secretaries
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notheretomakefriends
11/03/09

@KikiCanuck: I don't want to be pessimistic about this, but from what I have witnessed at a lot of companies, this also has to do with being a woman below say, 35. Whether you have a master in nuclear fusion or you are the fastest typing secretary in Gaborone, there is always going to be some boss out there to figure it's OK to ask you to clean the rain gutter.
I even remember a boss apologizing to a male employee who brought him coffee because his female counterpart was not at her desk at the moment of the request. FML #secretaries
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KikiCanuck
11/03/09

@notheretomakefriends, @RudyWaltz: Those stories kill me... so shitty! I think you're both right. It never occured to me that my secondary job functions as lunch-maker and gutter expert were because I was a young woman, because my boss was also a woman. Now that I think about it, though, my male colleagues weren't subjected to that kind of crap. Makes me wish I could quit that job again. #secretaries
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la.donna.pietra
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
An industry contact once got annoyed with me when I wouldn't give him some confidential information in the middle of a meeting with several other industry contacts and faculty members. He told me that he "didn't know what they'd taught me in secretary school," but he expected me to give him information when he asked for it.

I have a bachelor's degree from UC Santa Cruz. One of the faculty members in the room also matriculated at UCSC. He turned to the contact and said, in the iciest tone possible, "I don't recall attending secretarial school." I could have kissed him.

It took the contact a few seconds to figure it out. #secretaries
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redqueenmeg
11/03/09

@la.donna.pietra: Awesome. I want film footage.

I used to get that a lot in tech support. "Listen young lady, this is very important, I have a COLLEGE DEGREE and you will fix my computer right now!" "Oh, really? I have a master's. Let's talk." #secretaries
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aimeeg
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
This might sound like a stupid question, but the only thing I really know about the job market in America is from those 'you're fired' montages in American films, where someone tries a million different jobs only to be fired from them all... and I always wondered... is that actually allowed in the US? 'Cos in England you really can't just fire people, otherwise they can easily sue for unfair dismissal. (I'm sorry this is such a dumb question!) #secretaries
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Miss Scarlett
11/03/09

@aimeeg: In most states it is "At will" and you can be fired for any or even no reason at all. #secretaries
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aimeeg
11/03/09

@Miss Scarlett is made of sugar and spice and everything nice: @BuffySummers : Thankyou for answering my stupid question :) #secretaries
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formergr
11/03/09

@aimeeg: Unlike in the UK, many states are "at will" states, where an employer is free to fire you for any reason they choose, other than discrimination based on age, gender, race, or disability (someone correct me if this isn't quite accurate).

My mother works for a U.S. law firm and is now in their UK office, and she has definitely talked about how much more complicated it is to fire someone there, and the long process needed to make someone "redundant", etc. #secretaries
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aimeeg
11/03/09

@formergr: A quick google turned up this [www.uklaw24.co.uk] regarding dismissal in the UK... I think it's quite hard to sack someone here. I think it's awful but the way that so many commenters have been asked to do such completely inappropriate things for arrogant bosses. I feel your rage! #secretaries
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aimeeg
11/03/09

@aimeeg: I don't think the UK system is *better* by the way. It's good for employees, but it makes it a lot more difficult to sack an employee who hasn't done anything specifically wrong but is simply really bad at their job. That's pretty bad for employees too, actually, because they're then forced to pick up after the slack employee. #secretaries
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formergr
11/03/09

@aimeeg: Exactly, I've now heard enough stories from my mother and experienced the other side of it here, that I'm convinced only an impossible-to-attain middle ground would be ideal. #secretaries
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aimeeg
11/04/09

@formergr: Ah, the middle ground. Where the sensible minority resides. #secretaries
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mommy_dearest
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
I once worked for someone who didn't have any boundaries. I volunteered on a suicide hotline on the weekends, and she once called the suicide hotline because she knew I would be there (not thinking about the fact that she was taking up space for, you know, suicidal people). Her question? "Does this sentence need a comma or a semi-colon?"

I wish that was a fake story. #secretaries
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
11/03/09

@mommy_dearest: Crazier and crazier... #secretaries
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momjeans
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
Ooooh, ooh pick me! I had to learn how to forge my bosses handwriting so that I could write personal message in all 100+ Christmas cards that I had to send out. I should have written something totally inappropriate in all of them. Also, I had to pick up her son from school when he had pink eye so that she could cheat on her husband in a town 80 miles away. I will NEVER work for a lawyer again. #secretaries
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curiousgeorgiana
11/03/09

@momjeans: Definitely had to do the card thing! SUCKS. #secretaries
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curiousgeorgiana
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
Okay, there are far too many good (or bad) stories on here. I was an "executive legal assistant" for a major partner at a big corporate law firm. Every stereotype in your head?? Confirmed.

Worst thing he ever asked me to do? Lie to his wife about the woman he had been having an affair with for 9 years. Worst experience: having to take a cab to the airport to give the "other woman" her passport when she'd left it in his bag from their last trip together. AWKWARD and humiliating. #secretaries
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notheretomakefriends
11/03/09

@curiousgeorgiana: about 8 years ago, when I was a secretary, I learned invaluable skills: dealing with the 60yo CEO's wife, his back-burner mistresses, the main mistress, the soon-to-be mistress, and the one the boss did not want to see anymore, who would cry to me about it and then proceed to insinuate that I might have replaced her... (shudder) Unfortunately I can't put any of that in a CV, but I still makes for a killer dinner party anecdote. #secretaries
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curiousgeorgiana
11/03/09

@notheretomakefriends: Great dinner party stories. Oh yeah, bosses daughter was my age and totally had hunches. She would cry in tears, begging for me to tell her the truth. I literally had to close my eyes and just keep repeating: I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what you're talking about.

Former Bosses: Don't put people in the middle of your crap. You're having an affair. If you can't keep them all straight, you're obviously not meant to have multiple partners at the same time. Survival of the fittest. #secretaries
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Ratinski
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
So here's my life. I'm a corporate librarian (known by another title, because "librarian" apparently makes all corporate types think of the stereotype, who couldn't possibly be of use in a corporate environment. But I digress) in a small consulting firm based in London. We have about 50 consultants spread across three locations, including four in the NY office, where I work. In New York we also have 1) no manager, and 2) an office manager who works remotely, because she doesn't want to commute from Connecticut.

So you know who ends up picking up all the slack, don't you? If you guessed the Terribly Important Consultants, well, you'd be wrong. #secretaries
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fictitious
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
As an intern in college I had a boss who insisted on giving me mandatory bagpipe lessons for a half-hour every day. I'm still pretty bad at the bagpipes.

Having been applying for many, many admin jobs lately, these comments make me more than a little nervous! The boss-assistant relationship is a little odd, to say the least. #secretaries
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
Soooo wait...is it NOT normal that my boss makes me wash coffee mugs? #secretaries
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BettyCrockerPunkRocker
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
Our boss is an insane tyrant to all. Once, he saw that my supervisor and her children were eating lunch (Chinese take-away) in the lunch room. Our boss made some muttering comment that he had not been asked if he wanted any when they ordered, even though that is not the norm here in any way. When my supervisor left the room for a moment, I watched our boss walk into the room, pick up my supervisor's her eggroll off of her plate, break it in half, and shove "his" half in his mouth as he strode out. Her children sat there in disbelief, and I didn't even know what to say to that, but years later, her kids still make references to that moment.

Everyone here has at least a dozen stories like that. #secretaries
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thecameralovesyou
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
I'm asked to buy him christmas presents, go to his house for dinner every saturday, and talk to his wife daily.

(I should mention my boss is my dad) #secretaries
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EndangeredRed
11/03/09

@thecameralovesyou: I choked back a little coffee laughing at that. #secretaries
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thecameralovesyou
11/03/09

@EndangeredRed: :)

I guess it's pretty equal since he buys ME christmas presents, and starbucks everyday and you know... gave me life. #secretaries
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EndangeredRed
11/03/09

@thecameralovesyou: Kinda sucks, though, if every time you have to make an argument for a raise or delegation of work he can come back with, "I created you!!"
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soykatrina
11/03/09

@EndangeredRed: It was actually the opposite of that for me when I worked for my father. I'd ask him for a raise and he would say yes because, "I'd rather have my money go to you, so you can save to take care of me in my old age, rather than someone that won't speak to me after I give them a recommendation." Talk about your boss asking a lot out of you... #secretaries
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TurnItOff
11/03/09

@thecameralovesyou: I was getting prepared to be enraged on your behalf, haha. #secretaries
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thecameralovesyou
11/03/09

@soykatrina: He does have a point though. It's kind of like he's paying himself a little bit! (well.. if you do in fact take care of him later on!) My main problem with dad-as-a-boss is it's a lot harder to lie to your dad. If I take a sick day (when I'm not really sick), then I have my dad checking up on me through the day, my mom bringing over food... I really have to dedicate myself to the lie! #secretaries
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soykatrina
11/03/09

@thecameralovesyou: It's true. And before the business went bankrupt, I worked every. single. day. Needless to say, fast forward 5 years and when I'm tempted to call out sick I still think, "are you really dedicated enough to pull it off all day long?" #secretaries
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JoaquinPhoenix's Hairstylist
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
I've been very lucky and have not gotten inapporiate requests. However, I do get asked to look for data/research that I am sure never existed ever! "Find this quote someone may or may not have said in congress in the past three decades". No amount of google would help. #secretaries
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
11/03/09

@JoaquinPhoenix's Hairstylist: Oh how about "here's something that this company puts together for a fee. We want the same thing, but on a completely different scale. The data must exist someplace!" I spent a month and a half on this project between Google and making phone calls to various government departments before he finally believed me that if he wanted it so much, he was just going to need to pay for it. #secretaries
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babyruthless
11/03/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: How much were you paid in salary on this wild goose chase? More or less than the data set cost in the first place? #secretaries
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Ratinski
11/03/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: @JoaquinPhoenix's Hairstylist: I'm a corporate librarian, AND THIS IS MY LIFE. I've perfected the Are You Fecking Kidding Me? look over the past five years. Unfortunately, most of my clients are in Europe, and it doesn't work so well over the phone. #secretaries
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
11/03/09

@babyruthless: Probably more. Especially since I was temping at the time, so he was probably paying something like $17/hr for me to work 40 hours a week trying to locate this shit. #secretaries
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babyruthless
11/03/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: my maths tell me that they spent $4080 on your project. Yowza.

Reminds me of a story my uncle tells: he worked for a gigantic company located on a gigantic campus. A million years ago, he needed something from someone on the other side of the campus. Guy B says that he'll drop it in the mail, next day delivery. My uncle says, don't be ridiculous. Just bring it over. Guy B brings it over, and then tells him that he earns $50 an hour, and it took him half an hour to walk here, and will take him half an hour to walk back, making the cost of this trip $50. If he had sent it next day, it would have been $15. My uncle felt like an ass. #secretaries
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redqueenmeg
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
I've never officially been a secretary but most of my jobs end up devolving into that.

I've been asked to do laundry on numerous occasions. #secretaries
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morninggloria
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
Back when I started here, there was a difference Director and a different Director's Assistant. One of the Director's Assistant's jobs was to hide the fact that the Director had a secret family from the Director's real family. #secretaries
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HarpMadness
11/03/09

@morninggloria: That is hard core. #secretaries
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J.D.Regent
11/03/09

@morninggloria: is that REAL? #secretaries
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Hiroine Protagonist
11/03/09

@morninggloria: That's like - accessory to bigamy or something! #secretaries
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morninggloria
11/03/09

@J.D.Regent: Yes! The secret family was with a former employee of the same company, and so he was eventually fired because the whole thing was totally unethical. His wife found out and left him. He had three teenage children.

He now works for another company in the same industry. #secretaries
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J.D.Regent
11/03/09

@morninggloria: 3 teenage children with which wife? wow. #secretaries
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morninggloria
11/03/09

@J.D.Regent: The three teenage children were with the original wife. The secret wife had his secret baby.

Being a director in my company requires a lot of travel to New York. It also occasionally requires long hours for directors or other Importants, so it's feasible that a guy with an original family that lives way out in the suburbs to have an apartment downtown or stay in a hotel a few nights a week. #secretaries
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zoethebitch
11/03/09

In reply to The More Things Change...
I'm in IT so I have about 40 people to take care of. Before school started this fall, one of my bosses brought his (10 year old?) ADHD son to work one day. Then the boss had to go to another job site. For six hours. And left his son here.

For reasons unknown, there is a motorized wheelchair in our building. I spent most of that day listening to this boy rumble up and down the hallways in the wheelchair smashing into doors and destroying the walls as he scraped by.

I've also spent countless hours working on the company owner's mother-in-law's PC. I always leave work by 3:30 so it's not too bad. #secretaries
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HarpMadness
11/03/09

@zoethebitch: The home computer crap gets to me. It's really not my job to fix some computer you got at Best Buy so your kid can update her FaceBook page. #secretaries
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echoparkgal
11/03/09

@zoethebitch: I was just talking about non-job related tasks at the workplace. My partner was a junior architect at a small firm when her boss left his three children - all boys - all under the age of 4 - in her care for 3 hours after the office had officially closed for some emergency. When he finally came back, he wanted to know why the office smelled like poop and the kids complained of being hungry. She let him know that he doesn't pay her enough as it is and that she doesn't work with children for a reason. After he pulled this stunt one more time, she quit. #secretaries
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mommy_dearest
11/03/09

@zoethebitch: "For reasons unknown, there is a motorized wheelchair in our building."

Who hasn't uttered those words? #secretaries
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