Fairygodboss Discussion Boards Because Work Is Personal

Fairygodboss Discussion Boards Because Work Is Personal Today were excited to launch a new community feature on ur site Fairygodboss discussion boards. We already have a place where you leave some pretty moving Confessions, but you told us you wanted a place to actually interact to share and hear from other women on workplace and personal topics.Fairygodboss discussion boards are exactly that a small group of women have already participated in a beta version, and theyve left some great examples of questions, comments, and answers on a range of topics from how to negotiate a raise and what to wear to a tech start-up interview, to how to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace and actually practice equal parenting.Sometimes we have never even thought about the stuff that shows up on these boards. For example, one woman writes, Does anyone take a digital break over the weekend or found a way to tell your manager that you wont really be available on the weekends to answer emails qui ckly? I want to have the conversation but not sure how to start it without looking badWhile much of our lives are rightly divided between the personal and professional (eg.Facebook for the personal and LinkedIn for the professional), sometimes drawing a bright line doesnt seem very realistic. According to one survey, 40% of employees have had a romantic relationship with a colleague. And a recent poll of Fairygodboss users suggests that we have close friendships at work. A majority of you told us that you would confide in a colleague at work if something uncomfortable happened to you there.In general, we think this is a good thing (well, maybe not the office romance part unless youre Michelle and Barack Obama). Being able to bring our whole selves at work means that we spend less energy compartmentalizing and hiding things about ourselves that we fear may be socially unacceptable. For example, I used to work in the private equity industry where I observed that it welches pretty rare for women (or men) to talk openly about their children beyond cursory mentions. I didnt have children at the time (I didnt even have a boyfriend then). But I clearly read the social cues about what was OK and what was not. Based on what I saw, I certainly wasnt about to volunteer details about my personal life, marital status, nor plans to have children in the future.Ive talked to many women about the intersection of work and their personal lives and discovered that things are way messier than two neat professional versus personal boxes when it comes to the issues women face at work. We want and deserve to be taken seriously in the office, to be promoted and to become leaders. However, we dont want to hide the fact that we have personal lives and arent always tough executive types with our friends and children. It can be very stressful and emotionally draining to constantly monitor ourselves and change personas.Life and work can both be complicated sometimes. For example, even if y ou work at a very inclusive, diverse company, you may still feel nervous about telling your managers when you become pregnant. Theres just no telling whether youll be judged (even if benignly) about whether and how your priorities may change. Even anticipating those judgments can shape the way we see ourselves and our choices.All of this is to say that we want to channel the amazing insights that so many of you in this community have shared with us off-line, in your emails, and conversations with us. We believe in the power of our community to support women, help you realize youre not alone, and provide super practical tips. Join our womens discussion board and please let us know if you have any ideas or feedbackFairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer