She'll Never Be the One to Throw You Out

At each of the five employers I've had during my career there were office moms:

The office mom is shorthand for a figure in many offices: the colleague who remembers everyone's birthdays and brings in cupcakes. She has Advil and tissues in her desk drawer. She knows your significant other is all wrong for you—and will say so. [snip]

Apropos of the company business, baby showers, engagement parties and birthday celebrations are officewide parties, replete with champagne, handcrafted decorations, ornately decorated cookies and tiered cakes.

Observations from my own experience:

1) The office mom does not arise spontaneously from the organizational ether. Management often wants to evince a caring touch and sets aside some funds for birthdays, employee anniversaries, etc. in the belief that celebrations boost employee morale. Executives ask secretaries, administrators, and/or human resource staff to be the unofficial office moms (often there is more than one). Personally, I've only seen women in that role.

2) It used to be that younger women could be office moms. Nowadays they view it as a gender stereotype that would derail their careers. Older women seem to be more relaxed about donning the mantle.

3) The office mom rarely is in a power, i.e., hire-and-fire, position. Like real moms, she'll never be the one to throw you out. © 2013 Stephen Yuen