He Said, She Said

This past Thursday I woke up with a crick in my neck so horrific that every time I lifted my arms, it sent a very intense, very painful shooting sensation up my neck. Apparently I am 24 going on 85. I tried getting in the shower and fighting through the pain, but I couldn't even wash my hair (or put it up so it was just a limp gross mess around my face). So I made the executive decision to take the day off and lay in bed groaning and watching Tyra's special on babies in beauty pageants. 

And the next day I didn't feel much better, so I took that day off as well. And even though I was legitimately in pain and definitely wouldn't have been able to sit at a computer all day much less get on a bus to get all the way downtown, I still felt guilty for taking those days off. (I guess that means WG1 and I are just really great Catholics because we write about feeling guilty a lot.) Since I felt so guilty, I had a panic attack on Sunday about how I was so sure I was going to walk into work today and get fired. 

See, when I felt like I was going to die from my neck pains I sent an e-mail to my boss saying I felt ill and all I got in return was a "Feel better". That's it. After I spilled out my guts about how I went white in the face when I moved my arms and how walking across a room was a small triumph. That's it. And when I sent an e-mail the next morning talking about my progress, I got zero response. So you can see why my heart started a thumping.

At my job back in New York, The Boss would have probably sent me a care package, told me to go get a massage, and fed me vitamins the day I came back from work. Because she was a 'she' and would often refer to me as her third daughter. She heard sick and her maternal instincts went into overdrive. I think a lot of women hear the word sick and immediately google the symptoms and send all the research they found on how to kick that flu in the ass to their friend/mother/sister/co-worker. I even googled shooting neck pains to make sure I wasn't dying from something other than inflamed joints. 

In my short career, I have only had female bosses and it's taking me a while to get used to a male boss. I'm used to getting lots of compassion when I'm sick or talking about my shopping purchases at lunch. 

My new boss is a 'he'. And his response was, "Feel better". He meant well. But his main concern wasn't my health because he doesn't think of me as a fourth daughter. He was probably thinking more along the lines of 'who is going to put together my weekly reports for Friday's meeting'. And for that, I couldn't be happier. He sees me as an employee. I already have parents thankyouverymuch.

Oh and just in case you couldn't guess, I did not get fired today. 

Have any of you experienced the difference between male and female bosses in your careers?