11 So, You Cried at Work
by Melody Wilding
“Are you OK?” a stranger asked as she tapped me on the shoulder outside my company’s office in Manhattan. I looked up at her with wet, red cheeks and wiped tears from my eyes.
Minutes before, I was in a team meeting when my boss made a derogatory comment, minimizing my professional background and training. His remark broke me—it was the last straw on top of my already overwhelming workload. Though I wanted to push back and assert myself in the meeting, my voice cracked and a lump formed in my throat. Fighting back the waterworks, I could only mutter, “Excuse me,” as I rushed out the door and out of the view of my coworkers.
At the time, I felt profound regret and shame about my reaction. What ...
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