Queen Bee or Mother Hen: The Contradictory Images of Professional Women

Business meeting.By Nneka Orji (London)

“Queen bees halt the wannabes” (Article headline from The Times Higher Education, 2004)

“I was really looking forward to a new opportunity at work but I just found out that the team manager will be a woman (audible sigh).” (Anonymous colleague)

No doubt you’ve heard this sentiment or read a similar headline a number of times during your career. I certainly have and I only started my career two and a half years ago. Young female colleagues and friends talk about avoiding female managers because of concerns around lack of support, hidden agendas, and jealousy. The question here is should they genuinely be concerned? Do senior female figures in organisations really exhibit non supportive behaviour to other women (the Queen Bee Phenomenon), or do they go out of their way to mentor more junior women (Mother Hen behaviour)?

For both the young females and more senior female figures working in corporate environments, it’s important to address this issue. There are numerous articles that are targeted at women who are at the threshold between management and senior management or executive level, but not nearly enough that provide guidance for more junior females who are still further away from the sometimes elusive glass ceiling.

Here, we look at this issue in more detail particularly in light of the discussion around senior and junior female relationships. Should we heed the advice to avoid all female managers, or ignore the naysayers and proactively seek opportunities to work with female colleagues at all levels and in our firms?

Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument.

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How to Talk About Politics at Work

By Robin Madell (San Francisco)

What do you do when a coworker tries to engage you in a conversation about politics, forwards you an email that supports a particular political viewpoint, or makes political comments that you feel are inappropriate? Likewise, if you are engaged in politics, what’s an appropriate way to be authentic to your personal beliefs without alienating someone who may disagree? Is it ever okay to talk politics at work?

According to recent survey by Fierce, Inc., which includes responses from executives and employees in the finance industry, more than half (54 percent) of workers say that political discussions are not healthy and do not improve communication. In fact, 78.1 percent of workers claim that political discussions cause coworker tension. Yet nearly the same number—80.4 percent—don’t want employers to forbid political discussions at the office.

How can we solve this dilemma?

One way is by establishing some ground rules. “Employees will talk about politics, whether it is allowed or not, so organizations should set guidelines on how to approach the subject of politics and what is acceptable behavior,” says Halley Bock, Fierce’s CEO and president. “Although political discussions may cause tension, management should never outlaw specific topics of conversation.”

Here are suggestions from Bock and others on the etiquette of talking politics at work.

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What Not to Say to a Pregnant Co-Worker

iStock_000012751692XSmallBy Robin Madell (San Francisco)

“My wife stayed home when our kids were little.”

“I’m sure you’ll be checking in from home.”

“We need to stick with business attire here.”

These were all comments that Kathy D., Esq., from Indianapolis heard from colleagues during her two pregnancies. And she’s not alone: countless other women find themselves bombarded with unwanted—and sometimes downright rude—questions about their pregnancy once coworkers learn about their condition.

Jennifer Wong, founder and CEO of Alt12, which creates mobile apps for pregnancy, health, and parenting, worked for a corporation when she had her first child. Wong says her announcement was met with a “Congratulations. Now how are you going to get your work done?” attitude.

“The immediate questions were about when exactly I was planning to be gone, what was my coverage plan, and would I be working during the 11 weeks I’d be on maternity leave,” says Wong. “Because I was very career driven and 34 years old when I was pregnant—an age many consider to be ‘old’ to be having kids—I got comments from coworkers like, ‘I never thought you would have kids’ or that I would probably need more time to recover because I’m older. The most annoying comments came from those who assumed I was going to give up my career and not come back after my maternity leave.”

Whether the comments relate to if you’ll return to work, how you’re going to manage juggling everything, or the riskiness of having a child after a certain age, it’s important to know how to address them. On the flip side, if you’re working with pregnant colleagues either as an employee or employer, you should know what kinds of comments and behaviors might land you in hot water or subject you to legal action. Our expert panel provides insight on what to say and what to avoid.

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Why Gossip Has To Go

BeateCheletteContributed by Beate Chelette

What would you guess is the amount of time most of us spend gossiping? Thirty percent? Not even close. Research studies report that in everyday conversations, gossiping takes up 65 to 80 percent (!) of speaking time.

And 15 percent of work email is gossip, according to a new Georgia Tech study that examined emails from the former Enron Corporation. The average corporate email user sends 112 emails every day, and one in seven of those messages can be called gossip. What’s more, gossip is prevalent at all levels of the corporate hierarchy, though lower levels gossip the most, says the study.

As a consultant and career coach, I’ve been in numerous workplace situations where gossip is the norm and it creates such a toxic environment. I can’t stand it. It has been my goal—more like a mission, really—to change that by providing a new leadership model for women in business called The Women’s Code.

Our culture seems to thrive on knowing personal details of celebrities, and other famous people, our colleagues, even our friends, especially when it’s dirt. At work, people chitchat and pass on rumors about their bosses and colleagues, and on it goes.

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Flex Execs: How to Get Your Teammates on Board with Your Telecommuting

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iStock_000004026171XSmallBy Robin Madell (San Francisco)

If you use flex time at work or telecommute, you may find, like Rodney Dangerfield, that you “don’t get no respect.” A report by The Center for Work & Family notes that a primary challenge for organizations that use telecommuting is the “perceived difficulty in monitoring employee performance and measuring employee productivity.” In other words, many office-bound managers and colleagues think flex workers aren’t pulling their weight.

Yet ample research has proven otherwise. A July 2012 study by Stanford University [PDF] researchers found that employees with flexible work arrangements are actually more productive than their office-bound counterparts, despite skepticism over its effectiveness suggested by phrases like “shirking from home.” In the study, telecommuters took 15 percent more calls, worked 11 percent more hours, and had 4 percent higher overall productivity than office colleagues.

In her book Innovations in Office Design: The Critical Influence Approach to Effective Work Environments, author Diane Stegmeier reported on a wide range of studies that echo Stanford’s findings:

  • American Express found telecommuting can increase employee productivity by as much as 45 percent.
  • AT&T found teleworkers spend an additional hour working per day on average.
  • Future Foundation found teleworkers saved their employers up to 10 hours weekly in the United Kingdom.
  • The Telework Coalition found telecommuting can increase employee productivity more than 20 percent.

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How to Manage Your Team with Positive Psychology

Businesswoman Giving Thumbs Up - IsolatedContributed by Alexa Thompson

The standard approach to corporate human resources has come a long way in the last half-century. Up until about World War II, employees were largely viewed as corporate assets—hired for their abilities, workers were expected to perform and achieve with very little attention paid to their personal development or individual well-being. The “positive psychology” movement of the 1960s and 70s brought the idea of subjective employee satisfaction to center stage. Many of the most successful companies today, from small start-ups to multinational business conglomerates, attribute much of their success to the happiness of their workers. More companies than ever are investing in their employees’ emotional well-being, and most are seeing tremendous results.

One application of positive psychology is in the workplace environment. An employee who feels valued and cared for by her employer is more likely to be content, which in turn can lead to increased productivity, greater interest in teamwork, and fewer sick days. The feeling is contagious. Departments that work cohesively spread to divisions, floors, and units: before long, an entire company is in step and more successful than ever before.

To many managers and executives, however, dealing with employee emotions feels a bit “soft.” Overcoming the initial hesitation to care for employees as people, not just workers, is not always an easy transition. Here’s how you can make it work.

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Do Female Executives Help or Hinder Each Other’s Careers?

iStock_000016936230XSmallBy Sam Peters (New York City)

The green-eyed monster is alive and well in corporate boardrooms according to a recent study from Washington University. The study entitled “Female Tokens in High-prestige Work Groups: Catalysts or Inhibitors of Group Diversification?” purports to prove that high-level female executives subvert the success of other females to protect their position as token woman.

This research directly contradicts recent research by Catalyst, and serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes that keep women from advancing.

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How the Perception Gap Slows Gender Equality

iStock_000009913938XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

According to a new study out of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, men and women view the gap between genders at the workplace very differently.

For example, based on a study of 925 professionals involved in talent development at top companies in the US, 57% of men said the number of women in senior management had increased in the past five years – compared with only 36% of women. Similarly, 53% of men said their companies were “extremely” or “moderately” effective at recruiting women, compared with only 33% of women.

When it came to retention of women, 73% of men said their organizations were “extremely” or “moderately” effective, and only 52% of women said the same.

In each case men were roughly 20% more positive than women regarding their firm’s efforts toward promoting, recruiting, and retaining female employees. This gap in perception reveals one way that men and women experience corporate life differently – and, it could be slowing women’s movement to the top.

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What to Do If You Experience Gender Bias

Three serious business people talking in boardroomBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Oftentimes, the problem with gender bias is that it acts like a filter, affecting how we see people, what we notice about them, and how we interpret their behavior. If you’re human, you have biases, and like other stereotypes, assumptions about a person based on their gender are made automatically. Both men and women are guilty of bias, but in the workplace it’s women who pay the ultimate price for these biases.

According to Iris Bohnet, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and the director of its Women and Public Policy Program, even those with the best intentions who don’t want to discriminate are likely to fall prey to stereotypes they’ve come to believe are emblematic of how society works.

“In today’s society seeing is believing, so if you don’t see women in leadership positions, you don’t naturally associate women with leadership,” Bohnet said.

Because hidden gender bias is automatically triggered, it should be thought of as a negative impulse that you fight to control. Bohnet has made an interesting connection between gender bias and studies concerning image, nutrition, and saving money: things that require intention: things we know we should do, but we don’t do because it’s easier not to – like being on a diet.

“The key to fighting gender bias is changing the environment so that being biased becomes more difficult,” Bohnet said. “When you’re on a diet, you’re not going to keep ice cream in your refrigerator. If bad food is available, you will eat it. Changing the environment so that it becomes more difficult to eat poorly or so that it becomes more difficult to discriminate against women can make all the difference.”

According to Bohnet, doing the right thing and creating the right environment requires a “nudge.” Bohnet took inspiration from the book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, which focuses on choice architecture – how outcomes might be influenced – or nudged – by how choices are presented.

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Shifting From Peer to Boss: Five Things You Need To Know

iStock_000017447641XSmallBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, author and managing partner of Schaffer Consulting Ron Ashkenas delves into an important subject: what happens when you get promoted and your relationship with co-workers must change from that of peer to boss?

This is not an unusual scenario. A common refrain is to be good to everyone because you never know who will be your next boss. The issue, Ashkenas points out, is that there’s no guidebook for how to navigate this uncomfortable and incredibly awkward situation.

According to Kim Zilliox, an executive coach with almost 20 years of experience, the bottom line is that once you are promoted, that is your primary responsibility. This does not mean that you can’t remain friends with your reports, but you will need to look at what needs to change when it comes to how you interact with your former peers. How will you ensure you are not making your other reports feel uncomfortable? How will you make sure you remain objective about your previous colleague’s work? There are no easy answers, but excellent communication is critical.

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