Office Etiquette
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:22 pm
Hi All,
Today was the first day with Invisalign that I've had to clean up after lunch in the office.
I work at a college, so my options are: staff break room, public bathroom used by about a billion students and staff, private restroom reserved for folks with disabilities or just be dirty and gross all day.
I opted for the staff break room. I know, it's not the coolest to brush your teeth in the "kitchen" area, but such is life, right?
Well, I'm in there today brushing away, as politely as I can, and as I'm cleaning up the aligners, my boss's boss walks in. She says "Oh, I'm doing Invisalign too! I just don't have my trays in right now." I asked how she was liking it, she looked at me, looked at the sink and said "It's a pain, I wish I'd just done regular old metal braces." I responded that I had those when I was a kid, but they sure did hurt a lot more than the Invisalign, yeah, it's a pain to have to clean 'em all the time, but you've gotta brush braces too!
I headed back to my desk to return my tooth brush before heading off to my appointment. As I was walking past the break room, I see the lady, and she's talking to another co-worker saying "Can you believe she actually brushed her teeth in the kitchen!?!?" She was saying it like some gossipy school girl! This, from an associate dean? The other woman just said something like "Well, let's just not think about it too much." I of course, just kept walking.
I don't want to embarrass my boss's boss and confront her about this gossipy junk, I don't want her to think less of me (it's not like this is just a temporary job, it's my career) and I don't want to go around with gross teeth all day. I don't want to brush up in the private bathroom for people with disabilities and I don't really want to use the general bathrooms.
Any advice? Did I violate some sort of conduct rule by brushing my teeth in the sight of others? Where do you all freshen up while at work?
Thanks!
Amber
Today was the first day with Invisalign that I've had to clean up after lunch in the office.
I work at a college, so my options are: staff break room, public bathroom used by about a billion students and staff, private restroom reserved for folks with disabilities or just be dirty and gross all day.
I opted for the staff break room. I know, it's not the coolest to brush your teeth in the "kitchen" area, but such is life, right?
Well, I'm in there today brushing away, as politely as I can, and as I'm cleaning up the aligners, my boss's boss walks in. She says "Oh, I'm doing Invisalign too! I just don't have my trays in right now." I asked how she was liking it, she looked at me, looked at the sink and said "It's a pain, I wish I'd just done regular old metal braces." I responded that I had those when I was a kid, but they sure did hurt a lot more than the Invisalign, yeah, it's a pain to have to clean 'em all the time, but you've gotta brush braces too!
I headed back to my desk to return my tooth brush before heading off to my appointment. As I was walking past the break room, I see the lady, and she's talking to another co-worker saying "Can you believe she actually brushed her teeth in the kitchen!?!?" She was saying it like some gossipy school girl! This, from an associate dean? The other woman just said something like "Well, let's just not think about it too much." I of course, just kept walking.
I don't want to embarrass my boss's boss and confront her about this gossipy junk, I don't want her to think less of me (it's not like this is just a temporary job, it's my career) and I don't want to go around with gross teeth all day. I don't want to brush up in the private bathroom for people with disabilities and I don't really want to use the general bathrooms.
Any advice? Did I violate some sort of conduct rule by brushing my teeth in the sight of others? Where do you all freshen up while at work?
Thanks!
Amber