Harper’s Bazaar did an absolutely amazing interview with Martha Stewart about her life and her many businesses. I get so used to covering interviews with 20-somethings who can only talk about their diets and their makeup, I feasted on this Martha interview. Martha has LIVED. Martha has done it all, seen it all, done time, worn hot pants, modeled in Paris, run a billion-dollar empire from her country home, and on and on. She is the original and I love her. Some highlights from this excellent piece:
She plows her own roads on her Bedford estate: “Oh, I love to snowplow. I was out there actually for three hours before I realized it was three hours, and I was semi-frozen to death. But it was fun.”
She doesn’t actually smoke weed: “What do they call it? A contact high? That’s the extent of my getting high with Snoop, is secondhand smoke, which is pretty serious, by the way.”
Her CBD line, which Snoop helped her with: The line includes CBD oil drops and softgels, but the stars are clearly her Wellness Gummies, which Stewart says she based on the French confection pâte des fruits and can be bought in a colorful, gorgeously packaged, $64.99 sampler box with 15 distinct flavors, like quince, rhubarb, and calamondin. “Boy, nobody has gummies that taste like tha… you don’t get high off the gummies; you get relaxed.” Stewart claims she can take 20 at a time.
Getting married at 19 & having a baby at 23: “Nobody does that anymore. Nobody! Isn’t that crazy? It was so natural for me.… I don’t plot out things. I am a doer. Doers just take it all in stride.”
Working as a stockbroker on Wall Street: “We were the real thing. You saw the movie Wall Street? I lived it. I mean, every man on Wall Street was trying to get you. Every man was trying to touch you in the cab. We had martinis for lunch.” One broker she knew locked women in his apartment for kinky reasons…“I adopted one of their cats because he wouldn’t let her go home to feed the cat. So I got Magnolia.” Stewart, though, “was a modest girl. I did not f–k around, if you want to use that word.”
She wore hot pants to work: “Do you remember hot pants? You’re too young; You don’t know anything,” she says. Little, tiny short shorts “where you see plenty of leg and a little bit of your butt.” Stewart says she had two pairs in velvet, one dark brown and one a peachy shade, that she’d wear with an alligator belt and a tight sweater tucked in. “And I looked great in them. We would sit with our feet up on our desks, and I had high-heeled shoes on or boots. And that’s what we wore to work.”
The Me Too movement & tolerating men’s behavior: Stewart says that getting ahead as a woman in business meant tolerating a certain amount of bad behavior. “You had to keep your cool and just do your thing, and brush them away.” As with other successful, pioneering women in business who knew no other course than to “brush them away” and compartmentalize the misogyny, the Me Too movement has proved complicated for Stewart. “It has been really painful for me. I’ve known almost every single one of the famous guys that has been accused and set aside. Some were certainly guilty of a lot of what was accused. But some were—it’s just their awful personalities. I am not going to mention their names, but I know those people very, very well, and you know the man just talks about sex during dinner. That doesn’t mean anything to me.”
On her prison time: “I knew I was strong going in and I was certainly stronger coming out. It was a very serious happening in my life. I take it very seriously. I’m not bitter about it, but … . My daughter knows all the problems that resulted because of that. There’s a lot. My only big regret that I can talk about is that Saturday Night Live asked me to host. My probation officer wouldn’t give me the time. That really pissed me off, because I would have loved to have hosted Saturday Night Live. I’d like that on my résumé.”
She hasn’t fired anyone during the pandemic: Now they’re up to 30 people on the farm, having essentially turned her home into a TV production studio. Stewart has a concierge doctor come by to do Covid tests twice a week (two people tested positive, and they quarantined away from the farm). Everyone practices social distancing, wears masks, and eats lunch in their cars.
Don’t ever think you’re better than anyone else. Creative directors and housekeepers are “all on the same plane. There’s no hierarchy in my life. I will wash the floor if I have to wash the floor. I’ll take out the garbage if nobody else has taken out the garbage. The CEO should be available to everybody at all times, if possible.”
Another rule of business: “You should be able to call anybody anytime, even on weekends,” Stewart says. She once called a new employee on a Sunday. He said he was taking a bath and couldn’t talk. “I knew I couldn’t work with that person. I just couldn’t. If you can’t talk on a Sunday and you take umbrage that I’m calling you on a Sunday—you know, if you are a terribly religious person, I take that into consideration. But I knew this guy was not a terribly religious person. It’s exciting! Business is exciting. I want people to feel that way about business.”
[From Harper’s Bazaar]
I always forget that Martha did have that extensive experience on Wall Street, and that her life wasn’t always baking and gardening. She really did see it all, and she saw it all in an industry which was, at the time, 99.9% male. She was like a sponge, soaking up all of the business knowledge and then she applied that to her real passions: homemaking, aspirational living, gardening, cooking. Completely badass. But the whole “you must be available to take a call on weekends” thing – it’s very American! As an American, I understood what she meant, although I’m sure the Europeans find it gauche.
Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar.
I mean… if my boss calls me on a weekend I wouldn’t get super worked up about it. But if I’m in a bathtub… I would probably ask her for a callback. That poor man was just trying to take an hour to relax and de-stress… that’s not the same thing as not caring or being excited about business. Does Martha take calls from the toilet too?
I wonder if she would be equally excited about calls on weekend if it wasn’t her OWN business but someone else’s she’d be doing weekend work for…
Totally agree, Anna. She is basically saying it’s somehow the employee’s problem if they have the (completely understandable!) boundary of not being available to their boss 100% of their waking hours. And what does she mean “I knew I couldn’t work with that person”.To me, that strongly implies she either fired or demoted him. Pretty much the definition of a toxic workplace.
You’re right. She’s 100%passionnate about HER business and employees don’t always have that same excitement. You know, some just work for that paycheck and aren’t even looking for a promotion. We need all kinds of people. You get the benefit that goes with your position: if you’re the owner you have the privilege to kick anybody out, employees can choose to stay or leave. Owners work countless hours even on the weekends, their employe might have signed for 9-5 monday to friday. To each their own.
precisely.
the single worst thing about the internet and smart phones is feeling like you always have to be keyed in. checking email over breakfast or during dinner, or just before bed… no wonder everyone is ill with anxiety and depression.
I’ve worked weekends in my old jobs and I work everyday now. I have my own business and that’s how that works. No days off. And you want dependable people that also want to succeed working with you!
I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect your employees to care as much about your business as you do. You can be a dedicated employee and still have boundaries and personal priorities outside work.
It’s understandable to see your own business as an extension of your life, because for you, it is. It’s not the be all end all for your employees, and that’s to be expected, too. They have families and friends and other priories that deserve to be balanced with work for them.
Agreed @Pusspants Expecting people to be available on their off time is problematic. It’s not their business even though they may be passionate about it. And everyone needs time off. The job is not the employees life and it shouldn’t be expected to be.
I get that and on a large scale I agree, but sometimes the closer you are to the top the more beneficial it is. And this guy was working directly with Martha.
Sigmund
Admittedly, I only have dogs that are my children and a husband that is in the same line of work as I am, so my struggles aren’t of others. But my work was more important than grabbing drinks or decompression in that way.
Financial security was more important. The sacrifices some make are no joke, but worth it.
I work weekends too because I love my job. But Martha specifically said the guy was TAKING A BATH. In what world do you get bothered that an employee isn’t available on a weekend because he’s naked in a tub of water? What if he had gone hiking and didn’t have cell reception? What if he was pooping? Are employees not just expected to be sometimes available on weekends, but to hold off on any fun life activities and bodily functions until the boss has gone to bed for the day? That’s insane.
If you’re the CEO or company owner, you should absolutely be willing to step up on a weekend if that’s what it takes, or step in and do whatever job that needs doing, if that’s what it takes.
But TBH, if I’m on the board of a company where the CEO is constantly having to jump in and fight fires 24 x 7* or having to empty the trash or step into customer service issues? I’m going to wonder why the CEO is doing such a bad job setting up systems, processes, staffing that can run the company on an even keel without so many “emergencies” **
But if you’re an employee? Paid for M-F x number of hours? And even if salaried, exempt your job should be able to be done during normal business hours? Sorry MS, but you’re wrong. Employees DON’T need to be at their boss’s beck and call all weekend. Employees get to have planned days off where they can live their non-work lives, have relationships with non-work people, and even bathe! plus – GASP! – take scheduled vacation, even if that means you need to plow your own Corsican hand-mined gravel driveway along your hand pollinated espalier Asian pear orchard.
*unless your business is fighting actual fires, which happen when, where they happen
** and don’t give me any ‘but they are our biggest client’ nonsense. At least until you’ve done the analysis that shows that the profit (not revenue) that that really needy 24 x 7 client brings in is way more than that account costs to service and if so BTW, why haven’t you staffed up, scheduled in such a way to cover their needs without requiring frequent last minute ’emergencies’?
You let that weekend call from the boss go to voicemail and then YOU decide if it’s important enough to mess with your off time.
I opened my own art gallery last year, yes I started a luxury good business in the middle of global pandemic, and I tell people I have hours off not days.
I wake up in the middle of night and check my email and Instagram account because I’ll have dreams that I received an email from a client wanting to buy a piece. The funny part 9/10 times I was right and there is a message. So I agree Martha. Hustle and get it done!
Also totally random fun fact. My dad dated a friend of Martha’s for a little bit and got to go to Thanksgiving at her house in CT. She lived across the street from one of my good friends. Best dinner ever he said.
I really dislike that motto, to hustle. If you’re super passionate and want to hustle, go for it! But other people do not live to work, they work to live. We deserve breaks and relaxation! Don’t expect others to be available past the 40 hours, it doesn’t make you hungrier or more hard working. It’s just different!
God I so agree. Let the poor guy take a bath on his day off. Martha would have totally run sweatshops in the last century in America, in fact her shit is probably made in sweatshops now.
This – I am all for hustling if that’s what you want to do, but it’s not fair to employees.
We are SUPER busy right now, which I’m thankful for but also exhausted, and I’m working a lot of extra hours on nights and weekends. I know my boss is too, and if he occasionally calls, it’s not a big deal because he doesn’t abuse it. But to assume a person is a bad employee because they need some time off? That’s a terrible boss.
Exactly. Unless you’re paying me millions to be available every hour, sorry but no. Jeez, this is why Americans keel over from heart attacks and other preventable diseases and disasters. The work-life ratio is messed up and bosses capitalize on that, expecting that having a boundary or a desire for a *life* outside of the job is somehow a problem. If Martha or anyone else is expecting that, then they need to pay people appropriately for being on-call 24/7 i.e. pay them for 24×7 hours per week/salary and pay well and cover health insurance they’ll need because you never give them a break.
I think what Martha’s missing about the weekend calls (and she doesn’t say what position that person held) is that she’s excited about it – it’s her passion and she’s probably going to make a lot of money. If this is a regular employee- what do they get out of working on the weekends – outside of keeping their jobs? And how often does she call at random times?
To the other side of that Martha (imo) is saying she wants enthusiastic people around her. They’re getting benefits and worthwhile pay. They can rise in the ranks or absorb knowledge, hustle and start their own thing.
Or they can take a bath and hang up on their boss.
I get people need downtime. I’m not saying they can’t have that. I’m saying it sounded like this guy had a great opportunity and told it he couldn’t because he was taking a bath.
OF COURSE MS plows her own snow. She also carves sake cups from a cucumber. While she’s taking her clothes out of the dryer, her net worth goes up another $20 million.
The Meryl Streep character in “It’s Complicated” reminded me of MS. She runs a successful artisan bakery/restaurant, tends a large and perfect vegetable garden, yet still has the energy to make croissants from scratch in the middle of the night with her date.
We mere mortals can only stand back and shake our heads in admiration.
My favorite
I saw an episode of Beat Bobby Flay with Martha as one of the judges. If I had been a chef on that episode I would have fainted on the spot.
I remember reading an article many years ago. The author was a single woman, and she wrote about hitting it off with a very nice guy. They weren’t exclusive, but things were looking very promising — until she found out that one of the other women he was seeing was Martha. The author broke it off immediately; she figured there was NO WAY she could compete with Martha Stewart! It was a pretty funny piece.
On an unrelated note, her face looks like it’s pulled just a leeetle too tight; maybe it’s fresh work and hasn’t settled yet. She’s in enviable shape.
I just watched that movie again recently and holy hell, it is the whitest whitiest white white movie.
candy, that is a problem with a lot of Nancy Meyers/Nora Ephron’s movies.
Business is fun if you’re the one making the money. That employee could have let it go to voice mail and called back. Why is a phone stapled to your hand at all times?
Eh, I really think whether or not you should be available on weekends depends on the job. If you’re making Martha kind of money, sure. But few Americans make that kind of money, even working well over 40 hours.
I’ve had many jobs, including teaching, that required me to work weekends, and I could still barely pay my bills on those jobs. So now I take my time off and try to keep my boundaries firm. Unless you’re working for yourself, all that overtime is just making more money for somebody else anyway.
True, it depends on the position. If you are in management and have senior-level decision-making power and responsibility? You might be needed to put out fires outside of regular office hours. Peons like me? Nuh-uh. With less power comes less responsibility.
Yes! If they pay you well, and overtime everytime they call you, you suck it up., but it has to be a choice. But it most cases that doesn’t happen.
Plus, very few people can work effectively over the long term if they’re “on the clock” 24/7. Your brain and body need that down time to recharge and refresh. Martha comes across as more than a little myopic here; she seems to think everyone approaches (or should approach) life the way she does. In her mind, we should all be willing to take calls from the boss on Sunday, shrug off sexual harassment, etc. Kind of like people who defend hazing and other forms of abuse: “Well, *I* had to go through it, and I turned out just fine — in fact, it made me a better person!”
Exactly. We are not built to work 24/7 and it being her business counts for much of the energy that sustains that kind of work lifestyle. This is very detrimental to the body and mind to be expected to be on-call all the time.
Heck, a lot of those 24/7 moguls aren’t the healthiest folks mentally and/or physically. How many of them are impossible to work with, lose all perspective, or boil their lives down to money and power?
+100
Totally. I’ve done both – worked 14 hour days or kept firm on my 8-5. I did get a nice bonus when I worked my as* off. But overall I get more respect and more money in my current job, where I set appropriate boundaries. I think it’s actually pretty rare for a superior to notice if you are really pulling a lot of overtime, unless it’s truly the company culture. That said, I’m sure Martha Stewart was the kind of boss that noticed.
I’m European and I’m all for boundaries. And it all depends on a situation. When I had a job quite low in company strukture and not paid great I knew that after 5 was my time off. When I became a manager and got more money and more flexibility on when I work I knew that calls on weekend would be acceptable for me because I got a lot in exchange. If situation requires immediate action I understand the call. What would piss me off would be my boss calling to just tell me how excited she was. Tell this to me on Monday.
First off – I do enjoy Martha Stewart – she’s smart and a hard-worker.
This interview, she comes off as a little self-centered and I’m wondering if she’s grown over the years. She doesn’t seem to understand that men can act one way to her and one way to others. Talking sex over dinner isn’t the worst thing that’s happening! The guy keeping a woman locked in his apartment? Isn’t that disturbing?
She comes across as – “I was tough enough to handle it – if you aren’t too bad” instead of seeing the barrier to smart and hard-working women being in business and helping others succeed. And luck always plays a role in successful businesses.
I completely agree. I didn’t come away from these excerpts with a new love for Martha. Lots of side-eye from me.
Why is the line about the woman being locked in the apartment not getting more traction? She literally took her cat because the woman was locked up! What the actual hell?!?!
I seriously feel AMAZED that anyone even in the ‘80s or earlier, even as much of a self-absorbed pretentious fake as Martha Stewart is, could be as blasé about a woman literally locked up. Hello that is a crime.
I finished the interview feeling like to get by early on, Martha felt like she had to act like the men around her did – which at that time was probably true, but yes, I don’t feel like she grew past that. The way she talks about it now, especially the woman locked up, and the men accused of abuse, I don’t feel like she’s moved past the “keep quiet and survive” mentality, which doesn’t help ANYONE, and doesn’t do anything for progress or change.
True
I get that impression from women of that era — that they are confused by the current generation speaking out against the abuse. As a Gen X, I endured it but hated it and I am glad my Millenial and Gen Y sisters are speaking up against all that BS and have the support. Toxic masculinity is not okay, and I don’t want to pretend it is. People don’t get that if you spoke up back then, you were severely punished.
Juniper, I came along in that era, and it was women like Stewart that made bad situations even harder. They were all about the “suck it up, else you are weak” attitude. 😛😛 Many knew they were barely tolerated by the male workforce and their survival mode was to be harder than everyone else. I’m delighted young women are putting paid to this shit—it did a lot of emotional and career damage.
@ Gillysirl
I have mixed feelings about Martha Stewart too. I respect that she is smart and handled the jail situation gracefully. I also like that she is willing to do the dirty work too, like plowing snow or digging a ditch.
But, she also says things that are misogynistic and often comes across as being exhausting. She has had a hand in setting this unrealistic expectation that woman can do it all, and do it perfectly. I don’t think she ever recognizes her privilege as a pretty blond white lady when it comes to building her empire.
On one hand I like and respect her.
But on the other hand, she does exude privileged. And as a homeowner and a home gardener and home landscaper, often times when I see Martha being Martha and doing the stuff she’s lauded for, I think “well who couldn’t do all that stuff if they had someone lugging the pots into their courtyard, filling them with prepared soil and setting out the trowels, planting supplies, etc.? Or prepping the kitchen, sourcing the fancy pants ingredients, tending the herb garden and selecting succulent leaves at the peak of freshness and doing the mise en place for them ahead of time”
Yes, she’s worked hard and earned that privileged, but day after day other people doing most of the ‘hard’ stuff for her and she’s got nothing but time to spend on polishing her crafts and putting ribbons, bows and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar on it before the cameras snap.
I enjoyed this article from a successful female talking about her business. As a female in business I like hearing these stories even if I don’t agree with everything she said. I Don’t even mind what she said about the Me Too era. I’ve seen quite a lot of this from women of her age and experience where they struggle because they’ve been conditioned to let inappropriate conduct go in order to be successful and sometimes don’t know how to deal with it that other (often younger) women are standing up and saying no we shouldn’t have to endure this kind of conduct in order to be successful. It seems to me like she kind of acknowledged that she is struggling with that and I don’t think that makes her a collaborator.
I came of age in the late 1970s. My first job was at an engineering firm. The only women there were low-level administrative support people like me, and us younger one especially were treated like fresh meat. Yes, I shrugged off a lot of sexist and gross stuff when I was there, but present-day me looks back and thinks, Holy Crap, I can’t believe I put up with that shiz. It’s lamentable that Martha’s thinking hasn’t evolved much over the years.
I’m in the same age group and I feel the same as you. I remember working in an office job in high school and the male boss would come up to the women and rub their shoulders, run his hand up and down their arms, etc. He did not fool with me too much since I was clearly underage. But I asked one of my older co-workers about it and she was real dismissive like, ” Oh don’t mind him, he’s like a kid in a candy store with this office full of women”. So I think women just assumed they had to put up with this stuff. Thank god for Anita Hill, I think her situation helped to start the conversation about behavior in the work place and what women put up with. At least that’s when I saw things start to change. Now I have an adult daughter and I’m glad she’s working in an era where women are more empowered to speak up, although obviously there is a long way to go.
I worked in a professional capacity from the early eighties in male dominated businesses. And yes, we women sucked it up when it came to the “ boys will be boys” atmosphere. And because we did, and kept our imperfect selves wedging the door open with one high heel, more women were able to break thru and enter the field. And now they are surrounded by enough other women to be able to say “ enough” when the boys will be boys stuff comes up. I totally get Martha’s perspective and will say that it’s great to have progress but each generation’ progress is made on the imperfect shoulders of the generation before. It’s wrong to pretend the opportunity and environment was the same as you have now. As a refresher: try getting a credit card in your own name as a married woman? That’s a far more recent development than most realize. You couldn’t do it when Martha entered the workforce on Wall Street. And when you point to great women executives in your company…how many of them are running a revenue line? ( yes, go take a look at the org chart and count.) Then see how far we all have to go…
Loads of people are getting married young and having kids shortly after. What is she talking about there?
She’s talking about her class level.
Thank you. I was so lost on that one.
Yuck. Sometimes I forget that Martha is an out of touch, elitist, white collar criminal and then she reminds me with articles like this. The best insider trading tips are exchanged on Sundays by those as “excited about business” as her, I’m sure.
Well, about the weekends… yes and no. My family owned a successful business. Retired now. They were of course working every day or at least available every day. If a customer called on Sunday, the boss answered the home phone because the office was empty (this was before cell phones). But that’s what the owner does. That’s what you do for a career. I am an employee and while I’d like to think I’m a loyal and hardworking one, this isn’t a job that can turn into a career. So no, I won’t be available 24/7.
No. I might be European but I have a great work ethic and I have no problem with doing overtime. I was in the film business and when the project was on, you don’t sleep, you’re always available. But, I realised that once the project is over (eg filming) and you’re prepping the next one, or whatever it is – no. There are lines. There are times you have no private life and it’s an adrenaline thing and it’s fine. But if you’re an employee in a company (which I also was in a different filed) then you have your working hours and days off. That you are entitled to. Your boss is not entitled to call you over the weekend. (In my experience bosses doing that are often insecure and really bad at management). They can email you, and you can see it when the clock says it’s Monday, workday. It can be an unpopular opinion but I’m so over capitalist bs. In the meantime countries like Sweden have introduced 6 hours workday. Guess what, productivity is good in those kind of environments.
I appreciate what you are saying and actually overall agree, but that first line is dangerous IMO: “I’m European BUT I have a great work ethic and have no problem with overtime”… does that mean being OK with overtime is having a great work ethic? That Europeans “do not know how to work”, or are unwilling to work hard?
I’m also European, and have worked with multiple Euro nationalities and US businesses/people, and I’ve found more often than not that the American who were working 24/7 were the ones who were unproductive. You can have a great work ethic and mostly work your office hours and not during the weekend. This mentality where being overworked is seen as having a good work ethic is killing my brain (but you do actually mention that at the end of your paragraph, so I know you get it as well!)
I said it ’cause article ends with Europeans finding it gauche, so I started with that. I am not sure what the author thought of exactly. I think everyone thinks EU has different laws. Which is true, but they don’t always function in real life. Depends on the EU country. From my POV I did realise that this trend of work all the time, have your phone glued to your ear and always be available stared in 2000’s in EU, and it was meant to seem like you’re doing your job well, you had to be available all the time. I do come from a socialist country that cought up with USA work style later on. Prior to that I only ever so that in “Working girld”. It’s actually a wide subject, so I don’t know how to sum up my thoughts properly. I have noticed though, like I said; that most situations in EU that happen to end up with weekends overload – is either there is a project that is super vital (like in my case, filming…. as a producer I had no working hours. come first, leave last, prep for the next day, kill the eye a little tiny bit) or an incompetent project manager or a fresh company. But I do feel like that mentality is a USA think, and I haven’t experienced it outside of my country. Germany, UK…. really professional. Sorry if I didn’t comprehend your comment fully. I’m actually trying to have a break now and my phone is off the hook so that’s funny. Overtime today 🙂
ps to answer your question I think Eeuropeans have a great work ethic and I do believe 6 hours of work a day is enough. I’m not ok with overtime but in my line of work it often happens. Also I worked with Americans a lot and never had a problem. Sorry if my post was confusing. I think I need some cofee
As a former workaholic (who ran my own business) now experiencing a chronic, life shortening illness…
Nah.
Seconded!!! Do not kill yourself for a job. So not worth it.
Exactly.
When you’re working for yourself you can work on the weekends if that’s your choice, however, it’s unfair to expect your employees to do the same . If I’m doing extra hours during the week , unasked, I should be allowed to have some peace and quiet on the weekend so I can come back rested and ready on Monday. It’s very self-centered to think your employee has to devote themselves to you 24-7.
No.
I work to live, not live to work. I am a loyal, hardworking, efficient employee. I enjoy working for my company. I like my boss and my coworkers and I am friendly with them during off work hours. And yes if it is a true emergency I can help during non work hours. But no, I will not be available 24/7 as a rule. I am not a manager or owner. I am not that ambitious when it comes to work. There are other things I am passionate about – namely my child, my marriage, my friends and family and my hobbies.
Easy to take work calls on the weekend when you are in prison!!! Martha doesn’t get that not everyone has the $/ownership incentive that she does. I work for a mid size start up and am new so don’t have much equity – no weekends did me! Ever.
Ugh. This “if you aren’t putting in 24/7 hours in my business where I’m getting rich, you have no work ethic” is the reason too many workplaces are toxic now. The main reason I don’t like “The Devil Wears Prada” movie is because it did a lot to make this kinda crap glamorous/acceptable/funny. Lived through it, and it’s not.
I only work weekends when I’m making overtime, lol. (I’m a federal employee with a strong union, my boss never calls me at home, I never check email when I’m not working, including when I sign out for the day, I’m actually not allowed to.)
I think Martha is different because she had to hustle, so to her, working on weekends is pretty normal and she probably thinks that its normal for everyone, when I dont think it should be. That said, if Martha is calling this guy on a Sunday, he’s probably someone that is either pretty high up or working very closely with her, or both, so I’m assuming he’s well compensated and at a certain level, weekend calls are more the norm here in the US, in my opinion. (whether they should be or not is a different story.) So I dont think this is Martha calling up the intern and getting annoyed when the intern couldnt take the call. I also wonder if he had said anything besides “I’m in the bath” how she would have reacted – “I’m in the middle of the grocery store” or “I’m at the farmer’s market, can I get back to you when I get in the car” or something.
I generally think it’s fine if people have awful personalities as long as they pay some sort of price for being unprofessional with their awful personalities. The problem is people with awful personalities (who don’t commit criminal acts) being able to be awful in a work environment without any professional repercussions whatsoever. Behave better, losers. I’m fine if society wants to rewrite that norm. How else are these people with awful personalities going to learn?
Haha! I have a totally different topic to comment on 😂 I am taking this opportunity to say that I had a pair of purple satin hot pants as well as severely cut down blue jeans that I turned into hot pants, that I wore so much there was almost nothing left but the furry leopard print patches. Loved that 70s fashion!
On the work hours topic, when I worked for myself (or for my family’s business) there was no such thing as a day off. As an employee, my time is my time.
90% of the time whatever the senior person is calling the junior person about could wait until Monday, they just like the power trip. And a lot of them are lonely and actually just want someone to talk to and they don’t know how to handle reciprocal friendships, so they force someone to interact with them. It is so damaging to your mental health to feel like you have to be on 24/7. She’s toxic and always has been.
I like what she says about doing what needs to be done, even if it’s washing the floors. I’ve put together briefs if there was a rush and my staff couldn’t stay late. When sh*t needs to get done, you don’t worry about titles and job descriptions.
I think Martha tries to come off as down to earth with the whole “look, I plow my own snow” thing.. but all in all, she shows herself as having impossible expectations and I can also see where she would be pretentious. “Look at me, I brushed off sexual harassment, it’s no big deal.” Yeah I say No thank you to that attitude, I wouldn’t want to work for someone like her.
Gauche is not the correct term for how Europeans feel about this. It’s not that it is unsophisticated. However, the prevailing feeling in Europe tends to be that you should not be expected to work when you are not being paid to work. So, if Sunday is your day off, your boss has no place calling unless it’s an actual emergency.