I am a woman working in an office, the original author of Nacho Nachos. I felt like highlighting the supervisor of that story with a related story involving him being, in my opinion, very good at what he does.
I’d just gotten hired at this office and was having a semi-casual interview with [Boss], just to get me familiar with the dynamic and culture. Near the end of the interview, he cleared his throat.
Boss: “So, there’s no easy transition to this topic, so I apologize if this comes off as awkward. If you ever need them, I have an emergency supply of pads and tampons in my desk drawer, for any women in this office.”
Me: *A little taken aback* “That is a little left-field, but good to know, I suppose.”
Boss: “I figured I should bring it up while we have a private moment. Every other drawer in here is locked except for the emergency supply drawer.”
Me: “Do you have snacks in there, too?”
Boss: “Ha, no, those are in the break room; I fill that drawer up as often as I can, too. But yeah, if the worst happens and you really need them, you can come in here and grab a couple as needed, no questions asked.”
Me: “I’ve known female managers who don’t do that.”
Boss: “I have two daughters. Call it habit that I’ve decided there’s no such thing as ‘too many’ when it comes to stuff like that.”
Me: “Well, I appreciate it; I can’t count how many times I’ve forgotten or just run out and was out of luck for the day.”
Boss: “Bear in mind, I didn’t get the nice, expensive, fancy ones.”
Me: “Oh, no, of course. Beggars can’t be choosers, and it’s just nice of you to have them at all.”
After that, the conversation came to a natural end, and I got to work.
Two years into my job here, (before the Nacho Incident), I was approached by a female coworker.
Coworker: “Hey, did [Boss] tell you about the pads and tampons he has in his office?”
Me: “Oh, yeah, he said they were in there during my first week here.”
Coworker: “Yeah, he brought it up during my evaluation, since I think he forgot to bring it up when I first got here.”
Me: “Ah, yeah, those are super convenient—”
Coworker: “It’s a little creepy, isn’t it? That he has those?”
Me: “…What do you mean?”
Coworker: “I mean, he has them and lets us just… take them? What, does he get excited when we need them or something?”
Me: “No. He’s being thoughtful to our needs as women.”
Coworker: “Yeah, but he doesn’t need them, so why does he have them in the first place?”
I blinked a few times at this woman, who was about the same age as me, and I could tell that she wasn’t joking.
Me: “They’re not for him; they’re for us, or any woman who needs to use them, [Coworker]. They’re just there in case of emergencies. He’s being nice.”
[Coworker] frowned like she didn’t believe me or didn’t believe that someone could “just be nice”.
Coworker: “Well, I think—”
Me: *Interrupting* “[Coworker], would you rather they not be there at all?”
Coworker: “Well—”
Me: “Because I’m sure if it bothers you so much, he could probably get rid of them and not have that little bit of ‘I ran out at a very inconvenient time’ insurance. Is that what you want? Or are you trying to make some other kind of accusation? Because I can vouch for him not being what you’re implying, at least not here at the office that I’ve witnessed. So, which is it?”
[Coworker] went red at this point and stormed off. I took the time to speak with [Boss] about it, just in case. His response was to look a bit surprised and confused.
Boss: “[Coworker] said that to you? I brought it up, sure, but it was like when I spoke with you about it the first time. She didn’t bring up that it was creepy at the time, though.”
Me: “I don’t know what her game is. It was a little weird from my end, too. I just figured you should know in case it comes up from over your head. I’ve got your back if it does.”
Boss: “I appreciate it. Benefit of the doubt, she just wanted validation.”
Me: “Maybe.”
Sure enough, a few weeks later, [Boss] and I were called in to give our statements on the “incident” (which even [Boss’s Boss] was using air-quotes for), as a bit of formality to assure us that we weren’t in trouble. [Coworker] was, from what I heard, not punished any further than, “Please don’t make innocuous things weird for everyone, and consider that it’s not that deep.” I’m taking a few liberties on what might have been said to her, obviously.
After that, [Coworker] avoided speaking to me unless she had to for a while, though I did catch sight of her going into [Boss]’s office and then straight to the bathroom once. Not long after that, she spoke to me normally as though the whole thing had never happened. I suppose she finally decided it wasn’t creepy, or at least that the convenience outweighed her feelings on the matter.
Related:
Nacho Nachos
