I had a farewell discussion with someone at work today. He’s fifteen years older than me, a really nice guy, and I’ve worked hard to get him to take me seriously as a fellow professional, not a nice little girlie who is doing pretty well given her age and sex.
Reader, I kissed him.
I realised immediately afterwards that I had broken all the rules of business kissing. Basically, if you’re a woman, don’t offer a kiss to someone if you want them to take you seriously in the office. If you’re a man, use it to prove your power over a woman. Oh well. It was a farewell discussion.
A kiss is just a kiss…apparently not. Well, at least you didn’t do anything else!
I’ve never really thought about this, only the politics of handshaking. I have seen people from other workplaces or consultants ‘kissing across workplaces’, suggesting some kind of equity or parallel participation, I suppose.