I know a lot of people will read that title and immediately think “obviously” but for a lot of people - both men and women - who have been able to work under women, some may beg to differ. I saw an interview with Chelsea Clinton about how hard it was to quit her job in the New York finance world. She tried to quit and her boss kindly asked her to stay and she went home having downgraded from full time to part-time but that wasn’t her goal. She was doing her master’s degree and was really overwhelmed with her job, realising it wasn’t where she wanted to be. That morning, she had left her home and husband after deciding she needed to quit her job for her own sanity. But it didn’t take much to convince her to stay. Another study showed that women usually do not have the confidence they need during their job hunt. We want to be perfect. We have to tick off every criteria while men will have a few ticks and still apply for the job. Does this emotional tie we put with work or the need for perfection make us good bosses? In my own experience, I have had good experiences with women but also seen where we fall. I used to think that women letting emotions into the workplace was a stereotype but I will admit that the bosses I have had have always made some decision or comment based on emotions. I once had two women supervisors and there were good times and bad times. When those bad times came around, I felt like a kid with parents going throw a divorce or how some countries felt during the cold war. There were messages through other people with no direct contact, but when they did talk, it was all smiles and friendliness. To an outsider who was in between, it was all very confusing. On the other hand, compared to my male bosses, my female bosses have always been able to pay attention to certain details; ready to give you a good learning experience while working under them. Their communication skills are impeccable and you always know what is going on. The inability of some women to separate work and emotion may be our downfall at times but it is also our greatest strength. We make good bosses in areas that need detail oriented people. Do we do well in politics? Not always, since in politics you have to be able to cross a friend or look at the bigger picture. I apologise if this article feeds into stereotypes but I merely wanted to share an observation I have noticed for a while. Personally, I want to be someone’s boss one day but I know my weaknesses. I have to learn to control and monitor because the work behaviour I have seen from some of my former bosses are not ones I want to emulate. So 21st century ladies, are any of you bosses in your workplace? How do deal with emotions at the workplace?
