The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-11-04
THE OFFICE GIRL
Lines Of Conduct by Which She
is Popularity
Supposed to Both Please and
Protect Herself.

The lines of conduct by which the
office girl is popularity supposed to not
only please but to protect herself from
over-familiarity on the part Of her
employer and fellow employees is
summed up and expressed by those
| who have made study of the subject
in the following rules, says Martha
Stein, in Chicago Tribune.
Do not have candy upon your desk
or offer it to your employer.
| Do not be 'ribbony" girl.
Do not chew gum.
Do not "effervesce."
Do not ask your employer if he
knows if there is any good place
| around to get your lunch.
Do not protect yourself from posi-
BILE familiarity by wearing sour face.
In case Of excessive praise of your
! work on the part of your employer i'm
| ply that it is undesirable ana would
| best be discontinued. This is danger
signal. Thank him for his kindness,
but express the fact that you prefer
him not to mention it again in plain
| terms.
| Do not wear lace sleeves.
Do not encourage the men in the Of
flee to wait upon you or to pick up
things that you drop.
Do not jump right up and run home
to your mother if you feel that you
have been covertly insulted.
Have dignity.
If your employer remarks that he
hates to see you becoming tired and
offers to send out and get you a glass
of lemonade, decline it, and tell him
| that your being tired is matter for
yourself alone to deal with. (This is
an entering wedge on his part).
Keep an eye on the whereabouts of
things on your employers desk, but
do not attract attention to these serv-
! ices. 1t would seem like a bid for his
favor.
If you consider that anyone in the
| office offers you undesirable attention,
| decline it in such way as not to refer
to the moral question involved.
| If your employer helps you "up" in
any way in your profession do not as
sumo anything on account of his hav-
ing done so.
Do not wear flowers in the Office.
Do not go to- lunch with your en-
pleyer unless you are in a position of
long standing and there are exceptional
circumstances, like business which for
some unusual reason has to be dis
| cussed in an extremely MmiteI time.
Then insist on paying for your own
lunch.
Avoid the man who in any way
knocks" the others, especially the
other women in the office.
Hold your head we'll and carry your
self WE'LL
Affect the shampooer and the mani
cure and the wearing of "tailor-made
rather than finery.
There is a. great deal Of talk about
how girl should conduct herself in
an Office. There is a prevalent belief
that if she receives any undue famtl-
iarity it is her own fault. If she fol-
lows the rules that are set down above
she is pretty certain to be exempt.
AS will be seen, they imply not only
the possession Of a fine dignity, but
also good taste and a broad under
standing Of the subject Of dress and
the fitness Of things" and call for a
fair underst landing Of tactics" when it
comes to- particularly unmanageable
masculine material.
If a girl has all of these qualities it
Is pretty safe to say that she win be
able to- manage anything In the shape
of office material which she may be
called upon to do, barring br1tes, that
the managers of all reliable woman's
business soiteols will tell you exist in
considerable quantities. She will at
| least not be responsible for any mat
tention to- business on the part of en-
ployers or fellow employees. She may
even marry her employer.
Unfortunately, however, instead OF
being all this, the girl who goes into
an office is not infrequently Of the kind
generally called worldly. For this class
Of girl those who employ many women
emphasize and elucfdate certain
points. One thing which is particu-
larlH' perilous to the masculine balance
and i1rclines it to totter either into
over,nasterfng irritation, or into undue
familiarity, is what Is termed the rib
bony girl" The rfhbony girl includes
the girl who uses perfumery with its
subtle and suggestive odor Of festiv.
ity. The lace sleeve, particularly evi.
dent during dictation, is especially
emphasized as being innocuous t.
business. A bangle is also offensive.
This" says a male instructor who
fmpresses upon his pupils the alb.
sence Of hnery, 'is because the bust.
ness man feels that femininity is OBJ
Of place in the business world anyhow
even though he has to submit to 1t
He resents these things as obtrusivel,
feminine. To the man Of another typ,
1t suggests that the girl who wears
them is easy that she has tastes