I have recently been working back in the kitchen at a pizza joint. I used to work in Pizzaland from 91 until 98 in Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke and then Guildford. In the last 17 years I had been working in an offices all over the place.
Now when I was working in kitchens from a 16 year old until I was 23 I thought it was because I was young, but the way the blokes spoke to the woman, it was a very sexual nature, full of innuendo and sometimes over the line into sexual harassment. The ladies always seemed to go along with it and being young, it seemed like the norm, at the time. The language was very open and very suggestive. looking back I thought it must have been the time in the early 90’s and looking back at it now, it seems very very strange and quite rightly frowned upon.
Then I started working in offices as a purchase ledger clerk, then credit control and then into credit management. At the start, there was still quite a lot of laddy behavour, but nothing like in catering. There was still a huge gap in equal rights and looking back you could see the genders being treated differently. ‘go and get us a drink love’ was often heard and someone even got a jacket made with ‘tea lady’ on it in another job. By the time I left my office job in June this year, this behavour was no longer going on. If anything the blokes were getting the rounds in more and popping to get things at lunch. The banter steered clear of gender.
Now I go back into the kitchen in my new role to gain experience before starting my professional chef course, but find myself back in 1991. I have been back in this sort of a role a week and one day and already heard ‘get us a tea love’ ‘if you are hot then just pop your close off’ one of the woman said, ‘I thought you loved me’ to get the reply ‘if you are offering I have a spare 5 minutes, I will show you my love for you’. ’ One lad said while kneading dough, I bet this is what your titties feel like, about the same size. Another chef said, 'heres perpperioni nips! I have witnessed a guy brushing up very close to one of the woman and even giving a quick squeeze as he went past, in the pot wash.
I am beginning to wonder what I am getting myself back into. If is very cringeworthy as well. I want to fit in, but tend to just keep my head down.
I was wondering if you have witness a difference in different sectors?
I’ve had loads of jobs over my lifetime in lots of different sectors. You can have a laugh in most places, and travelling through the corporate world hasn’t changed my opinion that much.
Working in NI was fantastic fun, and I alway enjoy going back. They’ve got a good mix of work and play over there. Craic, I believe they call it, but translated into something English people will appreciate, it’s spending a good portion of your day taking the piss or having a laugh. At the same time, they’re very work-oriented.
I’ve worked in offices since I graduated in '93 and I must admit to have never witnessed the behaviour that you have.
Yeah I guess most of my profession are male but there have been a proportion of females and they have never been treated like you describe. Even the banter has never strayed into sexual harassment, yes there’s been innuendo but that has come from both sides.
One company I worked for the IT side was mostly male and the accounts side was mostly female, it seemed to me that straying into the female zone was more harmful to your health (if you had delicate sensibilities) than the male zone!
I used to be one of nine chaps in an engineering department. Occasionally we did some work but mostly we spent our time indulging in what can be loosely described as office horseplay, although describing it as such is I suspect doing a grave disservice to horses. Then one day the boss summoned us to his office and announced we were getting a new member of staff; “and the thing is, fellas, she’s a … woman”.
“NOOOO!!” we cried out in unison, “does this mean we’ll have to get rid of our nudie calendars and stop pretending to rodger each other every time someone bends over?”
How happy we were when our worse fears turned out to be totally without foundation. I’m too much of a gent to go into details; suffice it to say, that wonderful woman single-handedly took the office horseplay to a whole new - not to mention, magnificent - level.
