40ish - Accidental Flirting, Work Woes and Willy Wonka

Episode Date: November 21, 2024

This week on 40ish Lauren has had a haircut and she is not happy. Nicole cannot for the life of her remember who runs the Chocolate Factory and a listener accidentally flirts with her boss. Another wo...man is being undermined at work and needs advice.  We would love to hear from you!  To share your dilemmas, rants, funny stories or general complaints about midlife please be in touch at: Email hello@40ish.co.uk Instagram https://www.instagram.com/40ish.podcast  TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@40ish.podcast Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/share/DVQWb6y2vesgeHEK/?mibextid=LQQJ4d  To order our book HAVE YOU TRIED THIS?” click here  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Have-You-Tried-This-Only/dp/1801293139/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1O7EA4ZF1O5CS&keywords=have+you+tried+this&qid=1699449028&sprefix=have+you+tried+%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-2 For Cyber Week, ZOE, the science and nutrition company, is offering 20% off ZOE Membership, their personalised nutrition program. And 20% off Daily 30, their first-of-its-kind wholefood supplement of over 30 plants.  To get this exclusive discount, use code ZOE20 at checkout at zoe.com for 20% off. ZOE’s Cyber Week discount ends on December 3rd, so make the most of it today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Interior Chinatown is an all-new series based on the best-selling novel by Charles Yu about a struggling Asian actor who gets a bigger part than he expected when he witnesses a crime in Chinatown. Streaming November 19th only on Disney+. With your support, the YMCA of Greater Toronto helps people turn off whatever's holding them back so they can let their potential shine, help turn on confidence and connections and possibilities. From youth shelters to job training, mental health counseling and beyond, the YMCA offers hundreds of programs that empower people to shine their brightest. See our charity's impact at ymcagta.org slash charity. This episode is sponsored by Zoe. Hello everyone. Please, if you are listening to the show and you have not followed, please hit the follow button at the top of the page now.
Starting point is 00:00:56 25% of you are already following this show and it makes such a huge difference to an independent pod like ours. So please, wherever you're listening, hit that follow button now. And also, if you want more from us, please come over to our subscription on Apple Podcasts to get this show and Self Care Club ad free. So you know, it's a really good thing there is an HR here. We've all crossed that line. I have never said the words nipple tassels so many times to a guy who is really high up at Apple. Apple podcast. Yeah. Apple.
Starting point is 00:01:42 And I literally just put the Lauren Kiss in the center of the chin and went oh I literally just put Lauren Kiss in the centre of the chair and went, oh, I just put in a kiss, never mind, it's done now. And I thought, I'm just not going to think about that. Hello everyone, welcome to Fortyish. I'm Nicole Goodman. And I'm Lauren Mishcon. This is the podcast that navigates the challenges and absurdities of Forty Something Live and we try and solve all of your dilemmas. How are you this week?
Starting point is 00:02:15 Oh, oh, oh, oh, there's a lot of brain fog going on. Okay. Today, I did something really, really special. Made myself my morning cup of coffee, which is the first thing I do when I come downstairs. And once I could hear it coming out the coffee, I turned around to pick up my cup. I hadn't actually put a cup underneath the spout. Oh, good one. So just let it piss all over the counter in the free flowing coffee. Brilliant. Brilliant. And I said to my 13 year old, Oh, that was special. And she just grunted at me as if it was totally normal for me to like no cup, no cup. That is quite special. Yeah. And also yesterday
Starting point is 00:02:58 we did a silent retreat. We did. And so I wasn't allowed to talk to you all day. Nope. It was hard actually. It's really hard. And there was one thing that I wanted to ask you all day. Oh yeah. Because my brain fog was so bad. Yeah. And I had to just sit with myself and my brain fog all day. And whilst my playmate was just there and I could have just asked you and I couldn't. I couldn't even go near you. No, we couldn't look at each other. No. You know, the one thing I wanted to ask you was,
Starting point is 00:03:33 I could not remember the name Willy Wonka. And that was how you went through the silent retreat. I am not kidding. Right? It took up the majority of the day in my head. Because you are only left to your own thoughts. You are literally on your own all day. In your own head.
Starting point is 00:03:54 You are only keeping yourself company. There was no phones, there was nothing to read. There was no distraction. No, no. And during lunch, there was a photo up on her wall when I was just looking at it and there was a character that looked like Willy Wonka. Yes. For the life of me, that name left my mind. It just left. That is brain. That is such classic brain fog. And I was
Starting point is 00:04:15 going Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Johnny Depp played him. Gene Wilder played him. I went through the songs. I went through the characters. When did you get there with the name? When did it come back to you? 9pm last night when I googled it. Oh my god. And the only thing I could think of was Hans Christian Andersen. No, it's not Hans. And I was convinced it started with an H, which it doesn't. No. Wow. And I knew you'd know. I would have known. And then I was thinking like, what's the
Starting point is 00:04:42 question? What's the name of the guy in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that owns the factory? That is really amazing. Willy fucking Wonka. I saw you looking at that picture. Thinking, did you know that I had chronic brain fog in that moment? No, I didn't because I'd got excited five minutes before because it was lunchtime, silent lunchtime. And I got excited because I could read the back of my like Marmite Corn Snacks. It was like something to read. It's like something to engage the brain in. And that was like an exciting 45 seconds for me in that day. The Marmite Corn Snack. I love a Marmite Corn Snack. Can I just say they were delicious. They
Starting point is 00:05:20 are delicious. But I had such the fear because we had to eat in silence for a full hour. I had such the fear they were really smelly because when Josh eats them in the car and then I get in the car later, I'm like, Oh my God, these fucking corn snacks. They smell of farts. Basically, they taste amazing. I thought, Oh no, they're going to be so smelly and everyone in the room is going to hate me. But they can't say they hate me because it's a silent retreat. I think hate is a bit strong. Don't you?
Starting point is 00:05:43 Strong resentment. I didn't smell a thing. Thank God. And then I came and. Don't you? Strong resentment. I didn't smell a thing. Thank God. And then I came and sat next to you at one point and then we got really giggly, didn't we? And then you walked away. I think I gave you a double thumbs up.
Starting point is 00:05:53 No, you didn't. If you know. I did give you a double thumbs up. No, you didn't. Yes, I did. I missed it. You didn't because you laugh. Anyway, if you want to hear more about our silent retreat, it's sitting on our self care
Starting point is 00:06:03 club library where we actually interview the facilitator who was one of the best facilitators we've ever worked with. So don't miss that. And it is full of laughs and it's full of information and it's a really great episode. It was a good episode. Anyway, how are you? How am I? How are you? Yeah, how are you Lauren? Well, she's shutting her eyes. If you're listening to this on audio. How am I?
Starting point is 00:06:26 Okay. Well. Can I tell you how you are? Can you tell me how I go on? Give it a go. No. Well, you know what? I'll tell you how you were on Thursday.
Starting point is 00:06:36 Okay. And it's currently Monday. Yeah. You were like, I don't know what stick you had up your ass, but oh my God, you were terrifying. We had a business lunch on Thursday. We did have it. Well, yes, yes, we did have a business lunch, but they're kind of our friends as well. Yeah. But effectively it was business. Yeah. And then we came home on the drive home and you were like, you were just, you were really scary and okay, you were quite aggressive. Sorry.
Starting point is 00:07:10 A little. And you were telling me the story and your opinion on something and I didn't actually agree with it. And I thought, is this a good time to tell her I don't agree with it? And then I sort of like, try to like step in very slowly to say, well, have you ever thought of, and you're like, no, I don't care. I'm done. I'm not having it. No, that, that. And then the next day I said to you, what, what's going on? What do you mean? You said, what do you mean? I said, you're not, you are like really scary and really on edge and there's something going on. And you were like, I am fine. And then you tell me on the walk down to the studio, you got your period on Friday. Yeah. Well, that would make sense. But no,
Starting point is 00:07:50 no acknowledgement of Oh, perhaps I was a bit stroppy. No insight. No insight whatsoever. Also, also believe I said to you on Thursday before I left, I'm supposed to be having my haircut on Saturday, but I don't really want to have it cut. Shall I have it cut? Shall I not have it cut? And you were like, I, I, I don't want to answer. I'm supposed to be having my haircut on Saturday, but I don't really want to have it cut. Shall I have it cut? Shall I not have it cut? And you were like, I don't want to answer. I'm too scared to answer the question. And I was like, just answer the question because, you know, you're the one who did the hairdressing. So just can just, shall I cut it or not? And you were like, well, you could leave it two weeks. No, because I said to you cutting anyway, I said to you, are you, if you leave it, how long are you going to leave it for? And you said because I said to you, cutting anyway. I said to you, are you, if you leave
Starting point is 00:08:25 it, how long are you going to leave it for? And you said, I don't know, a couple of weeks. I said, Oh, if you're going to leave it a couple of weeks, then yeah. I was just getting cut. That was an error. Nicole was an error. It was an error. Cause I went to the hairdresser. He's Turkish Cypriot. He's very difficult to understand unless you are tuning into him. It's a little bit like translating. You have to tune in, get into the mode and then you understand. And if you've just got your period, that is a very hard thing to do. If you've just got your period, you're hemorrhaging to death in the chair and you're reading an article in Vogue about shoes, then you don't really pay attention. And then you turn around and all of your hair's on the floor. But it's too late by then because you can't stick it back on.
Starting point is 00:09:04 So as I've told you, I'm just wearing a bun until March. As my dad says, no matter what happens in the world, hair will never stop growing. That's what my mother said. She's like, it'll grow. I'm like, I know it'll grow, which is why it's fine. Because what was funny is when we walked into the studio, I said to you, what's going on with the hair? Yeah. And you were like, not talking about it. I'm not talking about it. And I said, well, I don't know what's going on with it, but you said, it's going to stay like this for three months. And I said, I don't think I can look at this for three months. I'd like, it's not, it's not working for me. You look like a 1980s mom.
Starting point is 00:09:37 I mean, I kind of like that. Yeah. You shouldn't. Then James opened the door and he was digging the hair. Have you just been to a wedding? Yeah. Have you just had it done? I was like, no. He was like on and on as if, he's like, I feel like you've just been somewhere and you've like specially been to have it done. I was like, no, what happened was I had a bath this morning and thought, can't be fucked to dry my hair. I'll stick it on top of my head and stuck some pins in it.
Starting point is 00:10:03 And that's what happened. Thanks, James. And no thanks to you. But like who are you going to trust? James who has no hair. He also doesn't have any hair. Or the woman who had 30 years experience in hair. So I think what needs to happen is if you want my opinion, which I know you don't, do you want my opinion? We need to take it down, you need to wash it and then I'll blow dry it for you. How often do I offer that? Like once a year. Right. When we're doing a photo shoot. Yeah. So because it's, it's going to be better. Okay. And no, I would
Starting point is 00:10:40 not have told you that on Thursday. You would have fucking dared. Just before we dive into your dilemmas, a quick disclaimer. We're not doctors or health professionals, are we? Well, no, we're just two very middle aged women who have a lot of opinions about a lot of things. That's right. So if there is an issue that you're seriously struggling with, please contact a qualified expert. Here's our first question. There's a theme today. Oh, the theme is work, work issues, work problems. Got it. Dear Lauren and Nicole, I don't know if this is brain fog, but I am 47 and I seem to be
Starting point is 00:11:27 putting my foot in it at the moment at work. I'm a senior digital manager in adult social care. Okay. A senior. A senior digital manager in adult social care. I don't know what any of that means. Senior digital manager. So she works in an online space. I don't know. What was the next bit? Adult social care. It's not really relevant by the way to the story. It's just her job title. All right. Okay. Things are taking a lot longer to process these days. Last week, my boss, who is a divorced single man around the same age as me, went on a visit with a few other colleagues to one of our vulnerable adult daycare facilities.
Starting point is 00:12:05 They did some outdoor games with the residents and apparently he was surprisingly good at basketball. The next day I found myself at the Nespresso machine with him and just to make polite conversation I blurted out, I hear you're a bit of a goer. He looked a little shocked. Is it her boss did she she say? I mumbled something about basketball, but then I walked off as quickly as I could. This week, I fired off an email to him in a hurry just before I was leaving for the day and I signed it off with a kiss after my name. I realized, I realized a second after I had pushed the button, but obviously it was too late. I think it's even weirder to address it than to ignore it. So I think I'm going
Starting point is 00:12:56 to have to keep a very low profile before he either asks me out or reports me to HR. Oh dear. You did this the other day. Who are you emailing? Who was I emailing? Someone very corporatey. And I literally just put the Lauren Kiss and went, Oh, I just sent him a kiss. Nevermind, it's done now. And I thought I'm just not going to think about that because there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I've sent the kiss, the kiss is done, he's going to receive it. And it's out there.
Starting point is 00:13:31 The kiss is out there. The kiss is out there. Who even was it? Was it some guy who was dealing with a sponsorship? Was it him who we've never met? Was it him? It was. It was him.
Starting point is 00:13:42 It was Sam from Zoe. We've never met him. Well, we've met him on Teams. Not really the same thing. Also not my friend. Also not my lover. Also not my husband. Also not anyone I would kiss in real life. But at least he's not my boss. She's done it to her boss. He's very nice, Sam, though, over at Zoe. He is a delight. He really is. So I reckon it would actually be OK to say, oops. No, it's as she says, it's much weirder to send another email going,
Starting point is 00:14:23 I sent a kiss. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to send a kiss. That was accidental because I don't want to kiss you. Like, how do you, what are you supposed to say? I'm sorry. I've got some brain fog. I've kissed you when I didn't like, you know, here's, this is where the genders, where it becomes a gender thing because she could totally say to another woman, Oh my God, I've got terrible brain fog. I really didn't mean to send you a, I know it has a different connotation with women on women or man on women. But a woman would just totally get it. Or if you did something stupid or you said something stupid from a place of brain fog, a woman would be very forgiving. But a man, he just looks at you like you're some weird hysterical woman. I think it's kind of okay this way around, but like if Sam had
Starting point is 00:15:05 sent me a kiss, I wouldn't think much of it. I probably just think it in my own head. What a friendly guy. I would think he was young. No, because I think the younger they are, the woker they are, like they won't even assume our gender. Even if they see us on a team's call. They would if they say she, oh, and that. Like they won't even assume our gender, even if they see us on a team's call. Well, they would if they say she, oh, and that's another thing you did with Sam. Oh, I assumed Sam was a woman. The first thing you said to him. To talk about the sponsorship, which is now currently live. So we couldn't have messed
Starting point is 00:15:37 it up too much. The first thing you said to him was, I don't know why Sam, I assumed you were a woman. She hadn't even said hello. I assumed you were, like this bearded man came came and I was like, I just assumed you were a Samantha. And you said to me, that's so weird because so did I. We hadn't even said hello. I know, poor guy. Now you're sending him kisses. But why did I assume he was a woman? He said Sam. I don't know why. Weird. He didn't have his pronouns't know why. Weird.
Starting point is 00:16:05 He didn't have his pronouns on his email sign off. It's his fault. It's his fault for not being woken up. He didn't care. He didn't care. He really didn't care. And you know what? I don't think he cares about the kids. Should we ask him? No, can we not ask him unless you no longer want to be sponsored by Zoe? I very much want to be. Okay. What advice do you have for this lady who's now told her boss? Do you think that she might have a little bit of a mild crush on him?
Starting point is 00:16:35 And that is why she might be saying silly things. She doesn't say in her message, she says he is a divorced man of the same age, but she doesn't say her marital status. So my feeling is she might have a little bit of a slight crush, but even if it's subconscious, yeah, because that might be why she is, oh, I hear you're a bit of a goer and then sticking kisses on and then getting really embarrassed about it. Because if you don't, if there's no skin in the game, right, if you don't fancy someone at all, you could then say, I can't believe I just said that.
Starting point is 00:17:05 I'm so sorry. Hmm. But there, there is that line between the embarrassment of acknowledging or just letting it pass by. I think because he's her boss, she's going to have to let it go. Yeah. Yeah. As well as the kiss.
Starting point is 00:17:22 Yeah. And I would also maybe steer clear. I was going to say the opposite. I was going to say if she is single and maybe if subconsciously she likes him, then she can't date her boss. See what happens at the Christmas party. I mean, would you send him a kiss on an email? It would be really inappropriate. And if I did, I would feel really mortified. Would you? Yes. The only man I don't mind sending kisses to on an email is James. Oh, James. In fact, we always send him a kiss on email. In fact, his little inside podcasting
Starting point is 00:17:58 titbit for you. I don't know what she's about to say. You do know when we book the studio, we book it online on an app and we have to fill in like our names and our phone number and what show we're recording. Details. Details of the show. And then at the end it says, it's a booking form. And then at the end it says notes.
Starting point is 00:18:15 And like as in anything else you would like to add. Like we are having a guest in to talk about corporate finance, but we always put, love you, Jace. Or like miss you. Or we miss you and love you James. Or if we really pissed him off that we like put loads of kisses and hugs. Can't wait to hug you. Like, how are we really? But the thing is James is not always the person that opens the booking form. Sometimes it's other people that work in the studio. and I think that one day one of them asked him this guy works
Starting point is 00:18:48 James he's like maybe it's funny but like what the fuck is going on with you and these two women he said I've noticed that when you email Nicole the files you always say love and hugs why is that why are the files called love and hugs but the only reason the files are called love and hugs is because is that? Why are the files called love and hugs? But the only reason the files are called love and hugs is because I told him I wasn't getting enough love from him. Yeah. Yup. Yup. So you know, it's a really good thing there is an HR here. We've all crossed that line. Anyway, I would say to her, I mean, I really feel you. I really feel you. And I think that you should just avoid him and stop speaking when he is around because my feeling is you actually fancy him and you don't realize it.
Starting point is 00:19:37 Okay. I mean, that's a, that is a hot take. Is it? Yeah. I think so. A hot take? Yeah. Hot take. Let's go to a break. Never heard you say that. Yeah, let's go to a break. Then we can... I'll pick that. Stringing December 3rd, only on Disney+. From the directors of Spider-Man No Way Home and The Mandalorian comes a brand new series.
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Starting point is 00:21:20 and will vary based on account balance. Visit scotiabank.com slash right size savings for full details. Dailene will vary based on account balance. Visit scotiabank.com slash right size savings for full details. All right. So we're now that we're on the subject of work, which we do seem to be this week, some something really mortifying happened to me this week that was work related. I'm the only thing that's work related to you. So I speak to other people. What are you talking about? You speak to other people in your other job, in your other secret job. Yeah. Okay. No, not my other secret job, but there are other elements to the job that you just sort of, what's the saying, cockadefin on. You just pretend doesn't exist, but it does exist. Which is all the techie shit, which by the way, I know it does exist, but
Starting point is 00:21:59 I also just like to be in ostrich about that. Yeah I know. Yeah. You couldn't with that hair could you? It would stick straight up out of the sand wouldn't it? I wouldn't be in camouflage. You'd still spot me in the desert. Anyway there was a glitch on Apple podcast and one of our shows wasn't uploading and it kept uploading and then it kept, they kept deleting it. And this was about three weeks ago. It also, it was my fault by the way, because I changed the title. Anyway, we don't need to get into the technicalities. But it was my fault.
Starting point is 00:22:41 But there is, there's, Apple are very supportive of our show and they're very supportive of us and they're always on hand to help us, which is, we are hugely appreciative. And there is a guy there called Cow and he's part of the editorial and partnerships team. I emailed him to say, Oh, look, there's a glitch. I don't know what's happening. So he goes, Oh, can you email me the name of the title of the show and the date that it was released and what exactly what's happening so I can send it over to operations. So I said, yeah, the title of the show is called nipple tassels. It's called nipple tassels and blah, blah, blah. And I gave him all the rest of the details. Anyway, so he writes back and he goes, Oh, I can see
Starting point is 00:23:18 right nipple tassels hasn't been uploaded and blah, blah, blah. But anyway, there were a lot of emails backwards and forwards about, we just basically called it, you know, the file was called nipple tassels. Yes. Which is unfortunate. Well, yes. Anyway, it wasn't, it wasn't fixing itself. So he said, are you free for a call later today? So I said, sure. So he called me later and he said, right, what I need to do is just go through the library and just check that everything's uploaded your end and blah, blah, blah. So we had to go through everything. And basically we went through all the titles. One was called pubic hair and blah, blah, blah.
Starting point is 00:23:52 One was called trapeze sex with Zac Efron. Trapeze sex with Zac Efron. One was called nipple tassels. One was called what else is there? They're all rude basically. I have never said the words nipple tassels so many times to a guy who is really high up at Apple podcast. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:12 Apple. Yeah. Apple. Yeah. Then I actually had to say to him, cow, I am so mortified that I have to keep using the words nipple tassels to you. And he just burst out laughing and he goes, I love my job. It was so mortifying because if I'm going to have
Starting point is 00:24:31 a serious phone call about technical stuff with Apple and the operations team and the partnerships team, do I need to be saying the words pubic hair and nipple tassels? But I tell you what, I reckon the next time you email him, you could totally put a kiss at the end and it'll be fine. Here is our next question. Hey ladies. Hey. Hi. I've got a question about women supporting women at work. Okay. I mean, I think you'd be very supportive of my, my mum but today I just like to say, trust me, that is me being supportive. I'm doing what's best for you. Sometimes support looks different.
Starting point is 00:25:19 I am 40 and for the last 10 years have slowly changed my career and studied to gain new qualifications in a new area for me. I love it. Great. Good for you. But, oh it's in capital letters, but at work there's a woman in a senior role who just won't acknowledge the work I've put in and the knowledge and experience I've gained over the last 10 years. She will never in capital letters give a compliment, has nothing nice to say about anyone and doesn't want change in any way at work because in inverted commas, we've always done it in that way.
Starting point is 00:25:57 She's that person. The worst part is that she's in a relationship with the head boss and has his ear on anything. Oh. Every time I speak to her, I try to stay calm and zen, but she is driving me crazy. She lives rent free in my head and causes me to feel real, a real sense of imposter syndrome. Yeah, I get that. Should I speak to the boss who she's in a relationship with? Should I
Starting point is 00:26:26 just leave even though I love everyone else there? Or should I just suck it up and learn to push her from my mind? Thank you. Oh, I mean, I don't like any of those options. Me either. I'm so pleased you said that. We're not going to go with any of the options, are we? No. We're going to find our own option. She can't really speak to the boss. Definitely not. Hi boss who pays my wages. The woman you're fucking is an asshole. No. Should she leave? No. Kiss. Kiss. Why should you leave your job?
Starting point is 00:27:00 Definitely. Definitely. You are not leaving your job. No. Should you suck it up and push her from your mind? No. Why should you suck it up? You've got to go into this office every day. Definitely, definitely you are not leaving your job. No. Should you suck it up and push her from your mind? No. Why should you suck it up? You've got to go into this office every day. Well, at least four days because we all know we work from home on Fridays, but you know, no, no, no, no, no. And no, no. Yes. Yes. Yes to you. What the hell should she do? Right. First thing you have got, whatever you say to the boss is not going to change her attitude towards you. So the only thing that you are in, I'm going to be a real coach here. Go on. The only thing that you are in control of is how you react and respond to this woman. You
Starting point is 00:27:36 cannot change this woman. Don't even bother trying. Whether you are so right and she is so wrong, it is not going to change. But the only thing that will change it is how you react and how you absorb what she is giving you. I like that. So basically what I'm saying is you need to accept she is who she is and you need to find a way, whether it's through meditation or talking it out and finding a different perspective on it so that it doesn't eat you up. Because why is this woman holding so much power over your thoughts and feelings? Why? What makes her so fabulous? Yeah, that is a very good point. Thanks. I would also make some practical tips. And I know we have a lot of jokes about HR, but do you have HR? And if so, maybe you should actually go and speak to them about it because it is their actual job. And that's
Starting point is 00:28:29 interesting that she didn't say about HR. Did she? Maybe it's a small company. I don't know. She didn't, but like that is their job. They're people in the people. So maybe go and speak to them. And I would also start a private list document where every time something happens that undermines you or isn't correct. And it can't be like an emotion, you know, it can't be personal and emotional. It has to be factual, factual work stuff, jot that down, the date, the time and what happened and keep that list so that if anything comes to a head or this woman tries to boot you out or you really do need to confront it, you have got a factual document of everything that's happened.
Starting point is 00:29:07 I think that is such solid advice because if she's bullying her, which I know she hasn't used that word at all, but it kind of undermining her by the sounds of it. Yeah, she is undermining her, but she's also allowing her to. Yeah. But she feels it sounds to me like she feels quite powerless, but she isn't. to me like she feels quite powerless. But she isn't. No, she absolutely isn't powerless. And that doesn't mean that you have to always speak up, but it's just how you respond to it and how you think about it and how you allow her to consume your thoughts. Like that's got to stop. Because actually, if you believe you are doing a good job and you are doing everything you can, then her, this woman's thoughts on her shouldn't, shouldn't even come into it.
Starting point is 00:29:50 And she spent 10 years gaining knowledge and experience and doing this job. She deserves to enjoy it and work hard and reap the benefits, not be there worrying every day about this other woman. Also, there is something else she might be able to do. She might be able to speak to her directly. Yeah, I mean you say that and I feel uncomfortable for her because she sounds like a bit of a difficult cow. It's an option. Yeah. But you would have to get yourself really together on that. And also I understand what she's saying. This woman is sleeping with the boss so she feels like she has to be permanently on side and
Starting point is 00:30:26 in her good books because otherwise it gets whispered up. So she is in a tricky situation there. Which is why really she needs to work on how she responds to it more than anything. And I really like the idea of the document, just putting everything down on paper. There you go. We've given emotional and practical advice there. Well done us. Which is so you and me. It really is, isn't it?
Starting point is 00:30:50 Yeah. The best of both of us. Oh, wonderful. We can't top it. Let's end the show there. Thank you so much for listening. If you want to be in touch, which we want you to be in touch, don't we? Oh, we do, we do, we do. We want your dilemmas. We want to hear your rants, your thoughts, your feelings, anything you're struggling with. And currently we're looking for your Christmas dilemmas, rants and stories because there
Starting point is 00:31:16 is so much middle-aged juice around Christmas time and we want to hear it. Yeah, we really do because we're going to be doing a few Christmas shows in December. So the email address is at... You can email us at hello at 40ish, four zero ish dot co dot UK, or you can hit us up on the DMs. Yeah. Or even message us on TikTok, but I don't know how to read messages. No, I don't. You know what you can also do now? What? Is messages on LinkedIn. Yeah. You can, don't say link, because that's something else. Connect, connect.
Starting point is 00:31:51 Connect. You can't say link. No, no. That's what the teenagers say. No, no. That's a sex thing. Well, it's not a sex thing. What is it?
Starting point is 00:31:58 Is it more like a snogging? It's like a, no, they might be chatting thing. They're linking. They're linking. I thought definitely at least breast scraping was involved with linking. Well, my 12 year old when she was 12, she used to say it. So it's definitely not that. Definitely not. No, definitely not.
Starting point is 00:32:13 Definitely not. Just chatting, getting to know each other. Anyway. Yeah. Don't link with us. No. You can connect with us on LinkedIn in a very appropriate business way. Yeah, not with a kiss. And we will be back next week with a brand new show. Did you know that the most prolific serial killer in modern history was born in Britain?
Starting point is 00:32:39 Were you aware that nearly two murders happen every day in the UK? My name's Stuart Blues and I'm the host of British Murders, a true crime podcast focusing exclusively on British murder cases and serial killers. Every Thursday I tell the detailed story of a British murder case within the bite-sized time frame of 15-30 minutes. That's British Murders, available to stream on your favourite podcast platform now.

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