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Jobs & Careers > The Office Queen B.
 

The Office Queen B.

Over the years, I have worked in many offices, and each one had its Queen B. This would be the woman who ran the show, the long term know-it-all who had been there since Eisenhower was in the White House, the Office Manager, the Lead Secretary, the Division Chief, the personal assistant to the CEO, the behind the scenes bully, all variations on the same theme. She would always be the quintessential bureaucrat, the functionary with a passion for her function, and let no one question her authority on matters relating to how the office ought to operate.

One attempted to intrude new ideas into her bailiwick at one’s own risk. This is the woman who invented the response, “That’s not the way we do it” and “We’ve always done it that way,” usually articulated with a supercilious sneer and a superior sniff. The office Queen B. would be most merciless when dealing with (a) men generally, (b) new employees, (c) interns, and (d) professional staff. The latter two categories were people with more formal education than her, as she typically has no schooling beyond her high school diploma. Whether it is simple jealousy or a desire to magnify the preference for practical experience over book learning, the Queen B. shows no mercy for anyone who might make the mistake of thinking their education put them ahead of her in handling office matters. As lead bureaucrat, the Queen B. defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.

In many offices, professional staff come and go, moving on to other companies or bigger jobs or new opportunities, but the Queen B. remains, forever in charge of things, watching over the day-to-day operation, not afraid to put in long hours, not afraid to tell some smartass young lawyer or accountant or draftsman how things are supposed to be done. She thrives in her arrogance, a company gal, loyal to a fault, ever ready to defend the tried-and-true over the new-and-unproven. She is the backbone of the organization, even as she steps haughtily upon so many well-polished toes.

posted on Nov 27, 2012 11:06 AM ()

Comments:

Did you have a run-in with one of these B's? (Aren't they galling?)
comment by dragonflyby on Nov 29, 2012 2:01 PM ()
Eventually, I learned to schmooze them to my advantage.
reply by steve on Nov 29, 2012 2:11 PM ()
Officious is a good description for them. I had one once say with a sigh,
"It's something new and different every day." She hated any change! I think it confused her and couldn't learn anything new - she wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box.
comment by catdancer on Nov 28, 2012 9:23 AM ()
Good take! They are ubiquitous. A sister is exactly as you describe. It carries over into family relationships. Both my doctor and dentist receptionists fall into this category. I hate them!
comment by solitaire on Nov 28, 2012 5:37 AM ()
I one made the mistake of telling a new president of the division I worked for, about a process dealing with News Service contracts, that we'd always done it that way and he jumped on that. What I should have said, was "WE DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WORKS." Well, Mr. Hotshot changed it and after that, we couldn't keep track of anything. Sometimes cliches are there for a reason.
comment by tealstar on Nov 27, 2012 5:02 PM ()
In 2008 she was 'right-sized' out of the firm. They could have replaced her with a younger princess with a college degree from the U of Phoenix at a lower salary, but decided not to fill the position because now everyone does their own word processing and faxing and scheduling.
comment by troutbend on Nov 27, 2012 1:56 PM ()
She is not the backbone of the organization. She only thinks she is. She is actually just a crutch relied upon by the most ineffectual partner in the firm. Yes, I was the new employee.
comment by nittineedles on Nov 27, 2012 12:08 PM ()

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