Happy International Women’s Day!

26 Comments

1. If you’re sick, please stay home!

   My boss has had what I can only assume is bronchitis for several weeks. She keeps infecting everyone. I woke up today feeling kinda crummy, and now I feel really bad. I’m going to the doctor in an hour. She heard me hacking up a lung, walked by my door, opened it, and said “yeah. I’ve got that too”.

   Keep in mind, I have my office door shut in an attempt to keep the germs in.

   Another coworker was late today because she went to the doctor this morning. A third coworker has her head down on her desk because she feels miserable.

   If you’re sick, STAY HOME! Please, for the rest of us.

   1. Sure, but your boss may not be the vector for it. If she’s been sick for several week and y’all are only getting sick now, then she’s not likely to be the source. Typically, chronic bronchitis isn’t contagious though, if that is what it is.

   2. If she’s had bronchitis for several weeks, she’s not infecting anyone now. There’s usually a period of a few days where you’re infectious, and much of that comes before you really feel sick. Staying home from work for weeks on end isn’t practical for most people, unless it’s something that’s much more serious than bronchitis. I’ve had bronchitis and although the coughing can last for a few weeks, I usually felt fine after I got over the initial cold/flu that caused the bronchitis. In an ideal world, people stay home from work for about 48 hours after they start feeling ill, to minimize the risk of spreading it others, but lots of people simply can’t take this much time off work every time they get a plain old cold (which is one of the things that can cause bronchitis). Unless your employer has very generous sick leave policy and you know her boss would be fine with her working from home or taking several days off for a common cold, you’re really not in a position to judge.

   3. If your boss become ill more than two weeks ago, and you became ill today, there’s a zero percent chance you caught this directly from her. She may have passed it to someone else who passed it to someone else who passed it to you, but acute bronchitis does not have an incubation period of 2 weeks.

   4. I think we are passing illness back and fortha t work. Good info about incubation, however, she hasn’t taken any time off. At all. She has an attitude that working while you’re sick is a noble sacrifice. If she’s here, we should all be here toughing it out. We have pretty generous leave, too. Sigh.

      1. Germs don’t normally work like that though. If you’ve had something and recovered from it, you won’t get sick again with the same disease a few weeks later because your body still has immunity. If you’ve gotten sick multiple times, it means there are multiple bugs going around your office (or you have one chronic, underlying thing that hasn’t been fully treated).

         1. +1 for actual science!

         2. +2 for science.

            For the martyr syndrome you boss has, check out Ask A Manager, as that’s a thing that has gotten discussion.

            Also remind your boss that her not taking leave discourages her employees from taking leave, and that denies them part of their benefits package, effectively reducing their compensation. And that is bad for morale and will make people less likely to work to support the cause.

            1. Taking weeks off just because you’re still coughing is completely unreasonable. If the boss has been coughing for weeks, she is not contagious anymore.

            2. If that was directed at me Anon @ 2:05, I did not mean the boss should take off all the (non-contagious) weeks of coughing.

               I meant that Boss should take time off when sick/contagious (which it sounds like she isn’t doing at all) so the rest of the staff feels comfortable taking that time off. The Boss is promoting an atmosphere where they expect everyone to work when sick.

2. Though if you’re buying a white suit, please hold off until tomorrow! One of the easier ways to take part in the strike, if you’re so inclined, is to refrain from buying anything today. For me thus far, this has just meant going without my morning coffee (oh, the struggle!) but it is a real way to demonstrate women’s buying power!

   1. I agree. I am NOT buying anything today, other then a Corn Beef Sanwich on Rye tonite at 2nd Avenue Deli. After all, we DO have to eat, and I am not that good of a cook to be able to make my own Corn Beef. On St. Patrick’s Day, Myrna is takeing me to eat REAL Corn Beef, she says, which is different from 2nd Avenue Deli Corn Beef. I know Myrna is a foodie, but I LOVE 2nd Avenue Corn Beef. I think that since Carnegie closed down, it has been VERY busy at the 2nd Avenue Deli. FOOEY b/c I do NOT like to be hurried when I buy my Corn Beef.

   2. Not striking, but I’m refraining from buying stuff too. It can wait until tomorrow!

   3. Oops, I forgot and bought something on Etsy. But the shop is owned by a woman.

      1. That is allowed (and encouraged) under the terms of the strike (such as it is).

         1. Oh good – thanks for making me feel better!

         2. The only woman owned-shop around me is a (delicious, amazing) candy store. This is not going to end well for my waistline…

   4. Oh man. I’m not buying anything, but totally didn’t think about lunch and bought a sandwich from the cafe. Nothing else!!! Dinner will be from whatever is in our pantry.

   5. Is it really, though? Because if you’re just waiting a day, there’s no difference in how much money you’ve spent. If you really want to show women’s economic power, actually don’t buy stuff.

      1. Well I think the idea is that major retailers track their daily sales, so they’ll notice the impact. Stopping buying stuff forever isn’t realistic for most people, but almost everyone can refrain from buying stuff for one day, so that retailers take notice.

3. The pictured white vest reminds me of a question I’ve been meaning to ask: how does one style a vest that isn’t part of a suit? I own a black wool vest that hits at mid-hip. So far I’ve worn it on a casual Friday with skinny jeans and a black/white striped tee underneath, but I can’t figure out a better way to get more use out of it. Can I wear it with black trousers even though they aren’t exactly the same? What other kind of top besides a tee shirt can you put under a vest?

   1. What about a dress?

      1. Hmmm, I haven’t thought about that. I guess a very sleek, jewel-toned dress? Maybe I’ll try it on over my teal Etsuko from MM. Thanks for the suggestion!

4. Red is the symbolic color of International Women’s Day & the Day Without Women’s strikes around the world. Women’s Day began as a socialist & trade union event in the 1900s, & striking has been a long part of its history.

   Not striking myself, but like a lot of women in my Silicon Valley office, I’m wearing red in solidarity.

5. I just say how happy I am about the little future woman I am raising. She’s 2 and she just learned to say her first three-word phrase. It’s “I did it.” She says it when she accomplishes something challenging for her- climbing something, putting an article of clothing on herself, pulling a blanket off the sofa and handing it to me after I ask her for it, etc.

6. Aww! Too cute! Our first words here are bye and NO! (which she says to literally everything). My 16 month old is a very serious, suspicious of new things, kind of kid (just like her dad) and I thrink it’s a great idea to celebrate successes by start saying ‘you did it!’ Love it!

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