Say you just got a promotion to VP and you are a woman in your mid-thirties. Your boss sends out a company-wide email congratulating you and letting everyone know about the promotion (promotions are a rare thing in this company and literally don’t happen - the only other VP was appointed in the 90’s). An employee (young male, mid-twenties) who has only been with the company for a month responded to the email, copied your boss and said congrats and “great work - keep it up!”
I’m trying to picture if he would have sent the same congratulatory email to an older man in the same circumstances. I can’t fathom telling a superior “great work - keep it up” in any situation, let alone when I had been with a company for a month.
I could be overthinking this. I am hypersensitive to these issues which is part of the reason why I pushed so hard to become VP. I work in an industry where the “front of house” people (think of them like the brokers or sales guys) are almost always men and seem to be favored and more valued in the company. It’s also a “sexy” industry where we get a lot of young men coming in with no experience and big egos saying, “I want to be a developer!” when the reality is anything but glamorous.
This guy is also on my radar because he sent some stuff to my boss. Boss responded to him that cosmowife’s department handles these types of projects and will let you know if they need anything else. He wrote back that he was “hoping to spearhead this.”
Please let me know if I’m being crazy about this. I’m ultra sensitive to this because I feel like I’m constantly fighting to be involved in every project, when these guys are invited to meetings and such without putting in any of the work. I feel more confident now that I have my new title but I still feel this constant sense of having to protect my position.
His comment would not have even registered with me. Given that he is asking to spearhead projects, he clearly is looking to advance but I don't think that means he wants your job.
All of that said, you know your workplace best so none of us can really say whether you should be offended.
Post by cricketwife on Dec 10, 2018 13:25:54 GMT -5
I am not in your industry and I’m just a peon where I work but I would chalk it up to youth. It just sounds like something a 20 something with no sense of the company culture would say.
He just sounds like a basic ass-kisser. I wouldn't read anything into it except he is trying to make himself look good/positive/team player. And congrats to you!
He just sounds like a basic ass-kisser. I wouldn't read anything into it except he is trying to make himself look good/positive/team player. And congrats to you!
He just sounds like a basic ass-kisser. I wouldn't read anything into it except he is trying to make himself look good/positive/team player. And congrats to you!
He just sounds like a basic ass-kisser. I wouldn't read anything into it except he is trying to make himself look good/positive/team player. And congrats to you!
Post by countthestars on Dec 10, 2018 14:35:29 GMT -5
With the additional background I agree it's kind of weird and he's probably ass-kissing, especially with your boss copied. That being said, any time a promotion email goes out at my company, hundreds of emails with that wording are sent to the person promoted from people at all levels of the company.
Thanks for all the congratulations! I appreciate it!
I don’t know this guy really at all so I have no idea whether he had any underlying motive. But even if he didn’t, he though it was an appropriate response regardless, and that is problematic in itself because it is exactly the type of mind frame that I am working to dismantle in this office.
The “keep it up!” is what I find condescending. I don’t think that’s an appropriate email to send to your superior. I probably wouldn’t say anything to him, but I would be irritated.
This guy sounds to me like someone who just thinks his opinion REALLY MATTERS and that he wants to look good in front of the big boss. I mean, these are the type of people to look out for, but most of them sink themselves.