LONDON: Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has suggested that it is okay for women to cry at work. Sandberg asserted that she attributes her tears to part of her success.
During a recent speech to Harvard Business School, the 42-year-old doled out career advice to graduating students, revealing details of how she paved her way to success in Silicon issues at work.
“I’ve cried at work. I’ve told people I’ve cried at work… I try to be myself,” the Daily Mail quoted Sandberg as saying. “I talk about my hopes and ask people about theirs… I am honest about my strengths and weakness and I encourage others to do the same. It is all professional and it is all personal, all at the very same time”, she added.
According to a study, workplace tears do not seem to have the same career suicide stigma they used to, with 41 per cent of women claiming they have cried at work, compared with nine per cent of men. In majority of these cases, it does not affect workplace performance, and in some instances, ability to show emotion can be viewed as an asset.
However, she made the distinct comparison between authentic tears, and manipulative waterworks, cautioning against dishonest weeping.
“As we strive to be more authentic in our communication, we should also strive to be more authentic in a broader sense. I talk a lot about bringing your whole self to work —something I believe in deeply,” she added. — Agencies
