British Comedy Guide

Best bosses: men or women?

Personally, I don't have a problem with female bosses (in fact I derive a certain frisson of pleasure taking orders from a woman!).

However, in recent months where I work, there have been a lot of tensions between women bosses and their female employees. To such an extent that three women have said to me in the last month that they wished they worked for a man. "It's so much more straightforward."

Any thoughts?

I am a manager of 2 girls... and I wish I managed men. Again, much more straightforward.

I don't mind having female bosses as long as they don't do the old power trip thing. I used to have a supervisor who was a complete tyrant with her male subordinates, but then at the Christmas party we saw why. Her husband really dominated her and she was as meek as it was possible to be without actually licking his boots. (I should mention they were both Asian.) At one point in the conversation her hubby was talking about his business and she tried to interject, and he rounded on her and actually shouted "I'm talking, woman! Get me a drink!" Which she duly did.

From that moment on she lost any sort of respect and nobody took her seriously anymore. I think she left the company about a month later.

I am managed myself by 3 men, of whom all have different personalities and all clash on the way they like things run.

Quote: chipolata @ December 18 2008, 10:11 AM GMT

Personally, I don't have a problem with female bosses (in fact I derive a certain frisson of pleasure taking orders from a woman!).

Well you could have knocked me down with a feather!

:D

Quote: Lee Henman @ December 18 2008, 10:16 AM GMT

I don't mind having female bosses as long as they don't do the old power trip thing. I used to have a supervisor who was a complete tyrant with her male subordinates, but then at the Christmas party we saw why. Her husband really dominated her and she was as meek as it was possible to be without actually licking his boots.

That's actually quite sad. Although I suspect it happens a lot with any bosses - male or female - they make their employees suffer for problems they're having at home.

Quote: EllieJP @ December 18 2008, 10:17 AM GMT

I am managed myself by 3 men, of whom all have different personalities and all clash on the way they like things run.

But you get on with all of them? Or is it stressful.

Quote: Marc P @ December 18 2008, 10:18 AM GMT

Well you could have knocked me down with a feather!

:D

That's why I like visiting the BBC! All those bolshy Guardian-reading women!

Quote: chipolata @ December 18 2008, 10:20 AM GMT

But you get on with all of them? Or is it stressful.

I manage them all very well. We all get on well. But it's taken a long time for them to respect me and treat me right.

My boss is my uncle and it is the only job I have had so I can't really say that I have ever had a hard time from management.

Quote: chipolata @ December 18 2008, 10:20 AM GMT

That's why I like visiting the BBC! All those bolshy Guardian-reading women!

This is a true story - a succesfull writer friend of mine was taking notes on a certain BBC prime time show for the next draft, when he said to the female script editor 'I am sorry I didn't really hear what you said for the last ten minutes as there is a holiday home right across from my office window and a woman has come back from the beach and is walking about topless.

She was not impressed. How dare you be talking to me whilst watching a naked woman etc, etc and then she slammed the phone down on him.

He is not the most diplomatic person I have met.

:)

Quote: Marc P @ December 18 2008, 10:41 AM GMT

This is a true story - a succesfull writer friend of mine was taking notes on a certain BBC prime time show for the next draft, when he said to the female script editor 'I am sorry I didn't really hear what you said for the last ten minutes as there is a holiday home right across from my office window and a woman has come back from the beach and is walking about topless.

She was not impressed. How dare you be talking to me whilst watching a naked woman etc, etc and then she slammed the phone down on him.

It's not David Renwick, is it? I get the feeling his social skills aren't up to much, and it's the sort of incident that would have fitted in well in the first series of Love Soup.

Quote: Marc P @ December 18 2008, 10:41 AM GMT

This is a true story - a succesfull writer friend of mine was taking notes on a certain BBC prime time show for the next draft, when he said to the female script editor 'I am sorry I didn't really hear what you said for the last ten minutes as there is a holiday home right across from my office window and a woman has come back from the beach and is walking about topless.

She was not impressed. How dare you be talking to me whilst watching a naked woman etc, etc and then she slammed the phone down on him.

He is not the most diplomatic person I have met.

:)

Laughing out loud Laughing out loud Wonderful.

Quote: Lee Henman @ December 18 2008, 10:16 AM GMT

At one point in the conversation her hubby was talking about his business and she tried to interject, and he rounded on her and actually shouted "I'm talking, woman! Get me a drink!"

Is that really so unreasonable?

I wish I could say otherwise but almost every female boss I ever had was super bitchy. The exception was when I worked for National Defense and my two female bosses were a Warrant Officer and the other a Major. One was leaving for Afghanistan on her 2nd deployment and the other was Navy (she had just been off her own deployment).
They were both super nice and it seemed like nothing bothered them.

Quote: Curt @ December 18 2008, 11:10 AM GMT

I wish I could say otherwise but almost every female boss I ever had was super bitchy. The exception was when I worked for National Defense and my two female bosses were a Warrant Officer and the other a Major. One was leaving for Afghanistan on her 2nd deployment and the other was Navy (she had just been off her own deployment).
They were both super nice and it seemed like nothing bothered them.

Did you have to call them sir? I've always liked that military custom of calling female superiors "sir".

Quote: Lee Henman @ December 18 2008, 11:01 AM GMT

Laughing out loud Laughing out loud Wonderful.

It was the same guy who fell down the stairs at an executive producers leaving party and hospitalised himeslf and the unfortunate waitress at the bottom of the stairs. He's about six foot four and I can only guess at his weight.

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