S/O What would surprise your coworkers about you?

[supertrooper1]

TGTKY got me thinking. What would your coworkers be surprised to learn about you?

[2chatter]

Those that’s haven’t hung out with me outside of work/aren’t my real friends would be surprised that my kids love me. And that I am a pretty great mom who’s mushy and sweet. People at work see me as kind of iron fisted and regimented and demanding.

[supertrooper1]

People are always surprised to see me in my regular clothes outside of work since we wear uniforms. I think they're surprised to see me girly and not in my rough duty baggy uniform and combat boots.

I'm HeartofCheese 's friend minus the making money off of writing. My secret dream is to be the next E.L. James.

[traveltheworld]

2chatter, I feel the same! I've been told over the years that I come off as cold and demanding; and because I used to work insane hours, people assumed that I didn't have a close relationship with my kids. It greatly annoyed me. My kids adore me to pieces, and I'm super affectionate and loving with them.

Although all of my former junior lawyers now all apparently love me. I'm in touch with almost all of them and try to mentor them through their changes to different firms / in-house positions. I still have former juniors who text/email me questions after half a dozen years of not working at the same firm!

[twinmomma]

That I'm a complete slob at home. I'm known as someone who is super Type-A, I have my shit together and I'm super organized. But that just doesn't translate into my housekeeping... My bedroom looks like a 14 year old lives there, with laundry and shoes and stuff everywhere, my kitchen counter is always covered in clutter, etc... Try as I might, I just can't keep up with it.

[mae0111]

It was a pretty huge bomb when I resigned to stay home with my kids for a while. They knew I had kids, and that I prioritized them over work happy hours and such, but I was pretty senior in the org with a bright future. I just didn’t want it anymore. So the people that weren’t my friends were shocked.

[supertrooper1]

twinmomma, I'm the same way. I'm cluttered and a procrastinator at home but not at work.

[covergirl82]

Outside of most of my immediate coworkers, I think many coworkers would be surprised that I'm a "crunchy" type who appreciates natural/homeopathic/holistic approaches to personal care/living and health care...because I work for a "traditional" health care organization. (And not to say I don't use or appreciate traditional health care, because I do. We got DD right to urgent care and an antibiotic when she had strep throat in early December.) DS used to get sick all the time, and with the changes I've made, he hasn't had anything worse than 1-2 mild colds since school started.

[waverly]

I think a lot of people view me as relaxed and serious at work. Since I am a department head they view me as a boss.

I think they are surprised when I tell them I don't really care what they do in other departments. I think they think I have a lot of opinions and pull but it's really only in my department.

I think they would be surprised that I do get anxious sometimes because I am not anxious at work because work is mostly predictable.

[librarychica]

I think my coworkers would be surprised at how much I run things at home. They know I went 75% time and they know my H has a fairly high-powered job so I think a lot of them assume I’m not ambitious or that I defer to H on everything. That is not accurate, lol. Outside of a handful of things, I make all the decisions and manage all the money.

[justcheckingin73]

I think they would either be surprised at how old I am because apparently I still look a bit younger than my age (or maybe I act that way? 😉) or they might be surprised at how laid back I am. I tend to be “all business” when I don’t know someone well or when I’m new to a company but I prefer down to earth people with a good sense of humor. 

[itsme]

They would be surprised I have a teenager. Not a tween, but a full blown going to graduate next year teenager.

[mommyatty]

That I have debilitating anxiety to the extent that I’ve made myself vomit in the middle of the night from sheer panic. I’m considered scary at work.

Also that I have close friends that I’ve been close to since high school and before. I’m not only scary but kind of aloof.

[HeartofCheese]

I've played a video game on my phone every day for probably 3 years called The Walking Dead: Road to Survival. I started it b/c I was in love with the show and needed a way to take a break from my tiny walkers without leaving the house. I've even spent about $150 on it (but don't anymore). It's gory and involves factions/raids/wars with other players and I will frequently have it running in the background ("farming") while I'm doing other stuff. My team is badass. Just sayin'...

ET: change "crawlers" to "walkers." Can't let an opportunity like that pass by.

[sweetptater]

Jan 23, 2018 15:29:45 GMT -5 mae0111 said:

It was a pretty huge bomb when I resigned to stay home with my kids for a while. They knew I had kids, and that I prioritized them over work happy hours and such, but I was pretty senior in the org with a bright future. I just didn’t want it anymore. So the people that weren’t my friends were shocked.

mae0111, I have so much respect for this. I'm in the same boat right now........great career, bright future, senior in org........but I just don't want to do it anymore. I wish I could make peace with myself and walk away. I just can't make myself do it. Also, DH is the most driven person ever, so he doesn't understand this at ALL. I feel very alone right now. 

[mommyatty]

sweetptater- One of my really good friends was promoted yesterday so she’s now a step above me. I thought it would pinch, but it didn’t. At all. In fact, I told DH I’m just not happy in my company’s culture and I was relieved that the golden handcuffs hadn’t gotten tighter. So while I’m not ready to walk away, I am ready to change. And I’m taking steps to do that. But frankly taking a pay cut will be hard, and finding another position in a low COLA where I’m paid this way? Not easy.

Anyway, you’re not alone.

[sandandsea]

I love adventures and doing daring things. I’m pretty chill and risk adverse in life but I like things like skydiving, sailing, scuba/snorkeling and heights. Also how silly I am with my kids like made up songs, games, etc. I’m way more boring at work. And that I do everything at home. Dh works way more than me and coworkers don’t know how that’s possible.