If You Have To Cry, Go Outside
Q. I work for a fashion PR company. Our office is in a loft — extremely open. Not only does my boss interject when I’m on the phone (“No! Tell them this!”), she also shushes me if I try to ask her work-related questions when she’s working on projects. (So, yeah, all the time.) Knowing these fun little quirks, I have been trying to avoid these situations by communicating via e-mail when I can, but at what point do I have to say, “I really don’t appreciate being your puppet, get your hand out of my ass?
A. You’re free to say that at any point, as long as you’re prepared to be kicked out on your ass immediately there after. A safer way to stick it to your boss and get out your frustrations would be through the aid of a voodoo doll.
Or, if you want to actually get ahead in the workplace, there are more adult ways to handle the situation. Like sleeping with her boss asking for a performance review. At your review, lay out a detailed case for a raise, promotion, change of title, gold star or whatever form of respect and validation you’re after. Cite actual incidents where your contributions made a quantifiable difference (increased client visibility by 66%, decreased intern mishaps by 80%) and show yourself to be an asset to the company. All that self-aggrandizing may not get you anywhere with Boss Lady, but at least you’ll have an outline for your resume update.
So until you’ve moved upward or onward, suck it up. And if you have to say something, there’s really only one thing you can say…
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