Feeling happy!

So, this week I’ve felt a lot happier. I’ve been here for just over two weeks now, and while I’m still definitely the new girl, I’m beginning to relax a bit more.

Last week, getting that telling off, was definitely tricky but then I realised that I have it easy compared to some of my friends who work for tyrannical monsters and, really, he was right.

The diary behaved itself this week.  I didn’t make any major gaffs which I think we all felt better for.  Instead, I worked more closely with Kate, developing a PowerPoint for a talk she’s giving next week, which I really enjoyed. 

As a woman, this is a hard thing to write, but I have had two not-so-good experience with women bosses before.  In my experience, men cope better with having a woman work for them – for lots of them it’s all about status and what’s more of a status than having a Little Secretary.  They also, generally, are well used to having women in subordinate positions because that’s how things have been for trillions of years.

I think that while the majority of female bosses are good, some women struggle to have a decent relationship with their PA for loads of reasons, usually nothing to do with the PA herself and all to do with the pressures of her role. And, on the flip side, sometimes, it’s the PA who finds it difficult simply because men can be easier to establish a working relationship with.  I mean, I’ve no interest in adding to the ‘Women Bosses Are Bitches’ debate, it’s just that, not everyone’s a nice person so, of course, some women aren’t going to be fun to work for. Just like some male bosses are rude, inappropriate or impossible. 

Kate, on the other hand, completely negates all that nonsense. She treats everyone as an equal and brings all that’s good about being a woman to an industry which is notoriously egotistical and male-dominated. She is a damn-good designer, a killer negotiator and tenacious when she wants something but she also uses her emotional intelligence and resolves staff issues with sensitivity. The practice is a 50/50 split between men and women and there is a real family-friendly vibe.  Thanks to Kate.

I’m so pleased I work with someone so inspiring.