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Apply make-up at desk; use powder room.
Talk to boss with cigarette in mouth.
Make personal phone calls from the office. 1
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T Photos by; Mickey Pallas
he evening's dusk had just settled as I drove
toward home. Waiting for buses to carry
them away from the pressures of the workaday
world were many of the women who comprise
today's vast industrial army.
Did you ever notice their rounded shoulders and
observe them desperately clutching their pocket
books? Those pocketbooks represent their jobs.
They cling tenaciously to the security they carry
under their arms and worry constantly about how to
increase it. Yet how many women know the neces
sary ingredients for top-level business achievement?
Emotional stability in business women is rated as
the No. 1 gilt-edged trait by the men who okay the
pay raises and promotions.
A woman's instability in the business world takes
many forms. Alcoholism is one symptom. ,
When I was feature editor of a paper, one of the
top women writers was a confirmed alcoholic.
When she was with us, she never missed a deadline
and she wrote excellent copy. But we were aware
of the scent on her breath in the early morning. We
knew she had lunch in a bar, preceded by cocktails.
Frequently, about 2 p.m., she could be found "sleep
ing it off" in the powder room. Of course, instead of
taking a coffee break like the rest of us, she took
another nip or two in the afternoon. Today this
woman is holding an insignificant office job.
Psychologists report that a woman's emotional in
stability also may be evidenced by bad temper, sulki
ness, moodiness, inability to accept constructive
criticism graciously or see a task through. Instability
is further exhibited in repeated tardiness, absentee
ism, careless work, and personal untidiness.
It's frightening to see a woman floundering be
cause of e motional instability. Heavily burdened as
today's executives are, they cannot also play com
pany psychiatrist to probe, analyze, and straighten
out some psychological maladjustment. The woman
must do it herself!
In my research for "How to Get Along with the
Boss," a book which deals with masculine psychol
ogy as applied to women in business, innumerable
conferences with top executives revealed the quali
ties most sought in women employees. Among those
cited were the following:
GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP. This sterling quality is
frequently lost in the storm of feminine jealousy.
The backbiting is particularly rough when a girl
I TTiT
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career vv
gets a promotion. Innate feminine antagonisms
erupt. Attitudes, direct remarks, or subtle hints are
directed at the fortunate employee, invariably with
inferences about her and the boss!
In the interest of peace, bosses may try to act
unaware, but actually .none of it escapes them. They
make mental notes which later turn to the offenders'
own disadvantage.
DISCRETION. Knowing when and how to mind her
own business, respect confidences, and maintain
golden silence should be a female fine art.
A tragic example of indiscretion concerns an
executive who became personally interested in a
girl. Malicious rumors about her reached him.
Perhaps it was wrong, but he asked his woman
assistant who lived in the same apartment building
as the girl, to leam more about her. He was hoping
by this means to kill rumors. But the assistant
revealed her employer's confidence to her friends.
The gossip spread like wildfire! Of course, it
reached the girl and now there is no hope of mar-"
riage. His assistant will soon be job-hunting.
Everyone seems to indulge in indiscreet gossip to
some degree. Women are more severe when talking
about other women. Each time a statement is re
peated it is altered by words, voice intonations,
or gestures. The damage is unpredictable.
A former employer of mine whose education
stopped in the sixth grade built a financial empire.
To would-be gossipers, he constantly reiterates:
"Never believe anything unless you get it from the
horse's mouth."
Secretaries to top executives must be extremely
careful. The girl "in the know" keeps quiet. It's the
one who doesn't know who shows it!
GOOD CUSTOMER-RELATIONS SENSE. A manufac
turer told me he first sold himself to his employees,
then he educated them on his product, the company,
and its policies. People are interested in people. If
you think your boss is the greatest, you'll go the
limit for him. Because you are interested in him,
you'll feel a responsibility for. the success of the
organization and realize that your future and the
company's are bound together. You will uncon
sciously become an enthusiastic booster.
POISE. Flighty women wear down a boss's
patience. Women who indulge in curt replies, emo
tional outbursts, loud laughter, and lack of con-
fij usan 11. IRogrovw
omen
Whether you work by
choice or necessity, here's
how to get ahead on the job.
sideration for other people are quickly rated zero!
GOOD TELEPHONE MANNERS. Today, more busi
ness is transacted over the phone than ever before.
The girl who plugs in that key when the light
flickers is a "Front Man" as well as a receptionist."
How she answers the phone sets the pace for the
conversation. If she has a pleasing, warm, sincere
voice with a smile in it and speaks in a gracious
manner, half of the company's selling job is done.
Her job isn't easy! She takes more than her share
.of abuse, most of it intended for somebody else,
but she must be impervious to it. She is an im
portant cog in the wheel.
A SENSE OF PROPRIETY. Powder rooms are for
repairing make-up; soda fountains are for eating
snacks. One's personal affairs should come in for
a minimum of office discussion. Also included in
propriety are appropriate dress for the office, deli
cate make-up and subtle perfume. Of course, women
also should avoid profanity, risque jokes, or sitting
on the edge of desks.
CONSIDERATION FOR THE BOSS. Perhaps the most
important hurdle is the realization that he is boss
and his masculine ego demands recognition and re
spect. He may make a complete mess of things, but
it is his mess and he should be allowed to make it!
I know a girl who used to be a good secretary
before she started telling her bosses how to run
their business. In the past two years she has had
at least six jobs and some long arid periods. As soon
as she's on the payroll, she begins to run the show.
Consideration for the boss applies to coffee breaks,
too. All businesses recognize the emotional and
physical value of these intervals away from the
tension of routine. It is when coffee breaks are
extended beyond their allotted time without permis
sion that the boss loses patience. The pressure of
today's business demands that each 60 seconds have
its distance run.
A Wall Street banker who has had the same secre
tary for 40 years told me he has silently suffered
many little inconsiderations in return for his Girl
Friday's ability to handle his affairs during his long
absences from the office. For example, he resents
her running out every evening without first inquir
ing: "Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"
He fumes when he buzzes for her and finds she's
three quarters of an hour late returning from a.
sorority luncheon.
LOYALTY. If a girl can't respect her employer and
feel that the two of them are on the same team, then
she should look for another job. A successful work
ing relationship must be a hand-in-glove affair. If
not, the productivity of the individuals and the
business will suffer.
With so many millions of women at work, why
do so few reach the pinnacle of business success?
Most young girls enter business as a stop-gap to
marriage. Few members of the "Under 25" sorority
establish a business goal for themselves. After 25,
either a girl has set a future that she wants and is
sincerely working toward it, or she is adrift.
The trouble with most women is that they don't
plan beyond next week's pay check and won't make
the sacrifices necessary to business success. To illus
trate, there's a girl I used to know who was in her
late thirties and could easily have' held a more re
sponsible, higher-paid job, but she refused to accept
it because it would make occasional off-hour de
mands on her time. She had a boy friend who had
no intention of marrying her, but she was afraid to
let him out of her sight for those additional hours
that could have spelled solid security. That's typical
of many women's reasoning.
Older women frequently are, or have been, mar
ried but have responsibilities which keep them at
their jobs. Employers report these women have
greater physical stamina than younger women; are
more dependable, less emotional, and more mature
in their judgment.
. If women could be taught to realize that business
success means, first, the laying of a firm foundation,
and then the relentless placing of brick upon brick,
there would be less drifting and less emotional in- ,
stability because their energies would be absorbed.
If marriage is a woman's major ambition, then let
her go after it! But if her Prince Charming has not
appeared before she is 25, she had better give serious
thought to her career. This will not deprive her of
matrimonial opportunities. If she retains her femi
ninity, her additional knowledge of a man's world
should actually make her a more interesting and
understanding wife.
A wise man once remarked: "A woman's function
in life is to be admired." Men are proud of women
of accomplishment. True, they like to be seen with
an attractive or gay girl, but just watch a man's eyes
when he brags about a woman's accomplishments!
And remember, nothing worthwhile was ever
achieved without planning and sacrificing. Achieve
ment is expensive but well worth the cost!
Family Weekly, May 25, 195S
Family Weekly, May 25, 1958
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