Understanding Female Animosity

I consider myself very lucky to work at the largest media house in the country (ok not exactly lucky, I work my butt off and deserve to be here, but you know what I mean).  The fact that I get to work with people from all walks of life means it is a constant hub of activity.  There is never a dull moment.  Oh, and I get to listen to music the whole time I’m in the office.

One thing I have failed to come to grips with in the work place is women and their mutual suspicion of each other.

Have you ever walked into an office, or another department, and immediately been scanned from head-to-foot by the women in the room?  And not in a very friendly manner?

I was chatting with a colleague the other day who works in a department dominated by women.  He was complaining about a particular meeting that descended into madness when a seemingly trivial issue blew up and normally constructive criticisms became personal attacks.  Everyone in the meeting, apart from my colleague and one other person, was female.

The trouble didn’t end there, and everyone in that department had to endure at least two weeks of static in the air and the general female population looking like they were sucking on a lemon half the time.

After a glass of wine and some deep thinking the other night, questioning this unwarranted hostility among women, I finally got an explanation.

It turns out that these chicks don’t always MEAN to be hostile- they just can’t help it, for a number of reasons.  Fear not! I am here to help you out. 

Presenting: Siima’s Guide To Why Your Female Colleague Might Be Giving You The Side-Eye of Death For No Apparent Reason

  1. You happen to be wearing a pair of shoes she has been coveting for months but can’t afford.
  2.  Her husband fell asleep right afterwards last night, and you’re glowing as if your dude shut it DOWN last night.
  3. She found you laughing and cracking jokes with colleagues, yet she always used to be the life and soul of the office party. Until number 2 (see above) became a regular occurrence.
  4. You proposed a brilliant idea in the staff meeting today, yet the boss told her the budget for her suggestion was far too high.
  5. She’s just pissed off in general and unfortunately for you, you were the first person to cross her path that morning.
  6. Not unlike vampires, too many women in a confined space leads to a ‘nesting’ atmosphere, which tends to make them more violent and prone to paranoia and bitchiness.
  7. She wasn’t really giving you a hostile look- she got some dust in her eye just as you walked into her line of vision. Stop being paranoid. (See? Nesting atmosphere. See number 6 above).


It may be that she just doesn’t like you, which is fair enough.  To each their own.  I’m not saying that we have to sniff each other’s butts like dogs but surely- why the animosity? Can’t we all just get along?

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