Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am the only single, childless woman at work, and those women HATE me. And arent afraid to say it.
How do you deal with that? We are close knit and talk about our lifes and some of them just basically either envy my freedom and disposable income or just plain hate me.
My suggestion would be not to talk about anything personal about yourself to them. The less they know, the less comments they can make. Do you have any interests in common, say a tv show or a craft or some music? Keep the chat to that. This way you're not anti-social but you're not giving them anything they can use against you.
They are not allowed to say it. That's creating a "hostile environment." I would just keep to myself, and do nothing but work while at work. No boss can fault you for that. And if they bring up your personal life, just say "That's personal" or "I don't discuss that at work." They don't need to know anything about your personal life, and certainly don't need to hear about your dating life. These days, anything that co-workers can use against you might be used against you.
One of my co-workers, when he wanted to excuse himself from a situation, would mumble "Is that my phone??" and then leave. Actually, I legitimately did that once, when my phone was ringing, and he picked it up and made it his tagline. haha
They are not allowed to say it. That's creating a "hostile environment." I would just keep to myself, and do nothing but work while at work. No boss can fault you for that. And if they bring up your personal life, just say "That's personal" or "I don't discuss that at work." They don't need to know anything about your personal life, and certainly don't need to hear about your dating life. These days, anything that co-workers can use against you might be used against you.
One of my co-workers, when he wanted to excuse himself from a situation, would mumble "Is that my phone??" and then leave. Actually, I legitimately did that once, when my phone was ringing, and he picked it up and made it his tagline. haha
Agreed. You are there to work, Presumably with a common goal among your peers. Nothing else is their business. People tend to love gossip as it gives them fodder to discuss aside from the work at hand. Entire TV shows and magazines are devoted toward peering into the lives of others.
I personally find it amazing that someone would actually HATE someone else because they don't have children, and even more surprised that a co-worker would actually openly express such sentiments.
I am the only single, childless woman at work, and those women HATE me. And arent afraid to say it.
How do you deal with that? We are close knit and talk about our lifes and some of them just basically either envy my freedom and disposable income or just plain hate me.
Any advice woudl be appreciated.
As Bill Clinton said: "I feel your pain."
I'm kidding and I'm also being very serious. I ended up working for an outfit where I was the only single, childless professional male, who wasn't cut slack for it because I wasn't a geek. (I didn't need to be cut slack). I think they assumed during the hiring process that I either wasn't wearing my wedding band, was divorced, and/or had a kid or two stashed away. It was a smaller- to medium-sized employer. One guy was cut slack for it because he was a paraprofessional and weighed over 300 pounds. Another guy was degreed and "in-training," but he was a hopeless dweeb, complete with a dopey voice, and therefore was cut slack. They kind of smirked that I would get on the big jumbo jet and head to Europe or South America for vacation, instead of going to Yellowstone with a family in tow.
If you have to stay put, keep the interaction to a minimum or try to stay on topics that would prevent such a judgment of you from being triggered. It might be difficult since conversations unexpectedly drift. If you can move, then you might have to. I moved on. The gift I left them was to depart in the midst of a major assignment (not deliberate, actually), which I headed up, to which they then begged me to stay, even with monetary incentives. I heard that it was rotating chairs after that, to get up to speed and to keep it staffed. Friends who remained in their employ told me it bled red ink, profusely so. That's life. Nice Catholic folks, by the way.
Marital status/familial status is very much a divider, even in the New Millennium, and will continue to be.
Last edited by robertpolyglot; 11-25-2012 at 04:59 PM..
Reason: clean-up, minor
Some people think everyone has to have a family or partner to be happy. I sometimes wonder if they are really happy or just want everyone to join in their misery. Either way, it shouldn't be an issue at work. Go to work, do your job, be pleasant but professional, and go home to your life.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Actually, I legitimately did that once, when my phone was ringing, and he picked it up and made it his tagline. haha
