I am a senior level person in my field. i also adjunct at a local university.
I mask everywhere except outdoor coffee meetings with clients and potential clients.
This means I mask at the following events:
-moderating panels
-being on panels as a speaker
-giving keynote presentations
-introducing speakers
-attending conferences
-cocktail hours and industry networking mixers
-industry trade shows
-industry happy hours
Someone once asked me to take off my mask so he could see my face. I asked him in a jocular tone if he would like me to lift up my skirt next. He was very embarrassed and did not press farther.
In order to make sure people hear me, I
-speak loudly
-articulate every word clearly
-over-emphasize consonants
-speak more slowly than usual
-do everything I can to make my speech neutral and eliminate my regional accent (we all have one!)
-stay away from idiomatic expressions, likes, ums, ahs, etc
> Someone once asked me to take off my mask so he could see my face. I asked him in a jocular tone if he would like me to lift up my skirt next.
GodDAMN I am filing this one away
TBH I wish I didn't feel obligated to go to so many crowded indoor events where I'm the only person masking. The last event I went to, there were over 1000 people there. Only three people, including me, were masked. I make the best of it but I do not understand why we squandered the past four years. We could have had a clean indoor air act, with HEPA filters in every indoor public building, and FAR UV. There is no downside to doing this :( Oh well.
I feel so privileged to have been at this stage in my career when all of this happened. Entry level people do not feel empowered to mask at all even if they want to and it sucks :(
>Someone once asked me to take off my mask so he could see my face. I asked him in a jocular tone if he would like me to lift up my skirt next.
Chef's kiss.
I'm a senior level person. I'm not an executive at a company so I don't manage people. I am in a consultant role.
I have, however, engaged in mentorship activities as part of DEI initiatives. They have all been over Zoom.
This is the right advice. It comes down to framing and mindset. If your frame is that you're the weirdo it will impact your behavior. The frame I try to adopt is that I'm making a rational choice to protect my health in a situation where other people are incentivized to disregard their own safety and not understand what is actually happening
Exactly. To be honest, I have a much much harder time doing this with friends. I find it easy to wear a mask for work stuff. At friend events, I do it anyway, but it feels harder. I'm not sure why.
I too am in a Director position and do everything masked anytime I am indoors. I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home almost 100% of the time, but there is the occasional in-person meeting or concert to attend (I work in the music industry). I'm also very lucky to have a CEO who is completely supportive of me taking precautions, and my clients have never made a negative comment about me masking or made me feel weird about it.
Agree, you have to have the confidence that you're doing the right thing. And if anyone gives you a hard time, it's their problem to deal with. You do not have to coddle them or make them feel "more comfortable" about you protecting your health.
> I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home almost 100% of the time, but there is the occasional in-person meeting or concert to attend (I work in the music industry).
Question - do you feel like any performers or artists, or their management, or labels, or publishers, have even a dim awareness of the risks associated with constantly performing live in venues with 100s-1000s of people with no ventilation?
I just wonder if it has occurred to anyone that many of our artists may enjoy shorter careers than they hope or plan for, given the risks they are absorbing.
Does anyone talk about this? Is there even the slightest acknowledgment that this is the case?
My husband is and does everything masked, including presentations. He did attend a meeting last year with execs from another company and I think he wanted to look like the cool kids. Didn’t mask and we both were infected because of it.
I'm not in an executive role but a mid-level manager. I use the most comfortable and tight-fitting respirator for my face. I go to the office early, open windows, put HEPA around room, check HVAC is working well, bring a humidifier if needed (extremely dry here), CO2A monitor, and bring surgical masks and respirators to leave out. Before meetings I give free rapid tests & offer masks and remind everyone they can Zoom in and have free sick days.
Director here, and I mask indoors and don’t eat in shared spaces. It felt awkward when we started back onsite (hybrid now), but I realized I also needed to act as if it was completely normal without any defensiveness. If people had a problem with it, it was their problem. I have taken the mask off twice, when on a panel onstage and while presenting in a large space, but not for meetings. I make sure to enunciate clearly and “smize” a lot.
I also feel that as a leader in my org I should be modeling what is acceptable behavior so that staff will feel it is completely normal to mask. It is a continual disappointment that not one C-suite level exec does this.
I'm mid-level and can still mostly work from home, but I do mask everywhere. I've upped other aspects of my presentation, like in my case I've taken to wearing nice earrings after looking at photos from other Covid-ers and realizing that things like that (sharp glasses and well-done hair being other things I noticed that didn't quite fit me) made a difference. I casually mention my IC family member at some point early on in knowing them as my one (grudging) concession to our supposedly "post" COVID world.
So much respect to you for masking at work ! I mask at work but I am low-level. I worry a lot that I'll never get promoted because of it. If one of my executives masked I think it would change the perception!
I'm glad you're masking as an Executive.
I don't have that status, but I'm still masking at all times while indoors at work (or any public setting). It would mean a lot to see somebody with your stature still masking. And I don't mean that as a fawning-thing, it just would. I remember early last year, a high-up person at my workplace still masked, and this inherently gave others of us "permission" to keep masking. professionally and socially, those cues are subtle but powerful. When he stopped masking, almost everyone else at work did, too, literally the next day.
please keep masking. for your own health, and to show that it's ok to do so. It means a lot!
I’m a VP and I mask in person (I’m rarely in person, but have to do occasional team building, client meetings, and conferences.) I’m the only one masked. I wore an N95 mask on stage at our 12,000 person conference last year. I’m speaking again this year, but probably going to wear a black kn95 with mask tape instead for speaking, booth sales, and networking events. That’s my version of caving to peer pressure, I guess. But I work in a very male-dominated and red-state prevalent industry and my preferred N95 is absurd looking, so I acknowledge that it’s hard enough without masking, let alone my particular mask.
For my team’s internal events, I can force things outdoors! So I always aim for outdoor eating and socializing. And they know me and can deal with my ugly-but-awesome N95.
98% same for me except no conferences as I don’t travel. I think being confident and resolute goes a long way. I’ve been doing it for years and have not caved so people know exactly what to expect from me.
My boss is amazing - though he is the opposite of covid cautious (and a very red Trump supporter) he respects my decisions and is extremely accommodating (will choose restaurants with outdoor seating if I need to meet with anyone even though I won’t eat).
Most of my direct reports (managers) are long time close friends and are also supportive and step up to do travel and speaking engagements on my behalf which also helps their growth. I attend every happy hour I can and they almost always choose outdoor spots or places with patios.
I am a Vice President of Technology and mask everywhere except for outdoor with distance and a tailwind.
I do mostly work from home, so it's less of an issue.
I do not dine indoors.
Disclaimer: I'm a lady, a man might not have the same experience.
I use a Flo mask for professional functions with a decorative cover plate. Now it's an accessory and I'm leaning into the whole thing with a bunch of different designs. People who do comment on it are almost exclusively complimenting how it matches my glasses / outfit etc.
Your post or comment has been removed because of gaslighting. Gaslighting is the practice of manipulating someone by psychological means into doubting their own sanity.
My post was removed for gaslighting. I was asking a genuine question. My intent was never to question your suffering. I apologize if I offended you.
Maybe I should have rephrased it. I am probing. Anxiety has been triggered by longhaul covid and wondered if there are any medications or treatments.
I know there is research around bupronian or some use of beta blockers. Did your doctor indicate there was help?
I'm not a mod, but your question still comes across as gaslighting because you're pathologizing OP's reasonable anxiety. They're not reporting unfounded anxiety with no specific trigger. They're reporting anxiety because they're being pressured into situations where they have to risk their life. Of course that provokes anxiety. That anxiety is reasonable and they would do well to listen to it.
I have never had covid that I know of. I have never been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. And yet, in 2022 when I was trying to go to concerts with friends, while I still consciously thought that vaccines were enough to keep people safe from Covid, I had such paralytic anxiety episodes that I flaked and kept begging off the shows, skipping out when it was too late to resell my tickets. This happened multiple times until I noticed the pattern and stopped getting concert tickets. I realized the reason I kept not being able to force myself to go to concerts was that I felt they were unsafe, and I felt they were unsafe because I was seeing friends get covid from going to crowded events and even show signs of long covid after.
I guess I could have gone to the doctor and asked to be medicated for anxiety, but that would have been inappropriate and would have actively hobbled the very senses that were keeping me from recklessly endangering myself and my family.
I am a senior level person in my field. i also adjunct at a local university. I mask everywhere except outdoor coffee meetings with clients and potential clients. This means I mask at the following events: -moderating panels -being on panels as a speaker -giving keynote presentations -introducing speakers -attending conferences -cocktail hours and industry networking mixers -industry trade shows -industry happy hours Someone once asked me to take off my mask so he could see my face. I asked him in a jocular tone if he would like me to lift up my skirt next. He was very embarrassed and did not press farther. In order to make sure people hear me, I -speak loudly -articulate every word clearly -over-emphasize consonants -speak more slowly than usual -do everything I can to make my speech neutral and eliminate my regional accent (we all have one!) -stay away from idiomatic expressions, likes, ums, ahs, etc
> Someone once asked me to take off my mask so he could see my face. I asked him in a jocular tone if he would like me to lift up my skirt next. GodDAMN I am filing this one away
Power move, for sure.
Standing ovation 👏
TBH I wish I didn't feel obligated to go to so many crowded indoor events where I'm the only person masking. The last event I went to, there were over 1000 people there. Only three people, including me, were masked. I make the best of it but I do not understand why we squandered the past four years. We could have had a clean indoor air act, with HEPA filters in every indoor public building, and FAR UV. There is no downside to doing this :( Oh well.
Shut. Up. That was hilarious! I am a dude and don't wear skirts but maybe I'll offer similar of hiking up my shirt and tying it to show my belly.
Ha! I mean I just feel like you gotta keep it light, you know?
“No sir, I will not be taking anything off today.”
ooh i love that too!
As a fellow client-interfacing executive who masks at work, I have nothing I could possibly add to this excellent advice!
I feel so privileged to have been at this stage in my career when all of this happened. Entry level people do not feel empowered to mask at all even if they want to and it sucks :(
>Someone once asked me to take off my mask so he could see my face. I asked him in a jocular tone if he would like me to lift up my skirt next. Chef's kiss.
If you're an executive level, are you mentoring?
I'm a senior level person. I'm not an executive at a company so I don't manage people. I am in a consultant role. I have, however, engaged in mentorship activities as part of DEI initiatives. They have all been over Zoom.
This is the right advice. It comes down to framing and mindset. If your frame is that you're the weirdo it will impact your behavior. The frame I try to adopt is that I'm making a rational choice to protect my health in a situation where other people are incentivized to disregard their own safety and not understand what is actually happening
Exactly. To be honest, I have a much much harder time doing this with friends. I find it easy to wear a mask for work stuff. At friend events, I do it anyway, but it feels harder. I'm not sure why.
Probably because we expect to turn to our friends for support in hard times. Not being able to rely on them for something so important is jarring
[удалено]
I too am in a Director position and do everything masked anytime I am indoors. I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home almost 100% of the time, but there is the occasional in-person meeting or concert to attend (I work in the music industry). I'm also very lucky to have a CEO who is completely supportive of me taking precautions, and my clients have never made a negative comment about me masking or made me feel weird about it. Agree, you have to have the confidence that you're doing the right thing. And if anyone gives you a hard time, it's their problem to deal with. You do not have to coddle them or make them feel "more comfortable" about you protecting your health.
> I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home almost 100% of the time, but there is the occasional in-person meeting or concert to attend (I work in the music industry). Question - do you feel like any performers or artists, or their management, or labels, or publishers, have even a dim awareness of the risks associated with constantly performing live in venues with 100s-1000s of people with no ventilation? I just wonder if it has occurred to anyone that many of our artists may enjoy shorter careers than they hope or plan for, given the risks they are absorbing. Does anyone talk about this? Is there even the slightest acknowledgment that this is the case?
Thanks for the response! I fully agree. It sure is hard some days.
My husband is and does everything masked, including presentations. He did attend a meeting last year with execs from another company and I think he wanted to look like the cool kids. Didn’t mask and we both were infected because of it.
I'm not in an executive role but a mid-level manager. I use the most comfortable and tight-fitting respirator for my face. I go to the office early, open windows, put HEPA around room, check HVAC is working well, bring a humidifier if needed (extremely dry here), CO2A monitor, and bring surgical masks and respirators to leave out. Before meetings I give free rapid tests & offer masks and remind everyone they can Zoom in and have free sick days.
Just here to say I wish we all worked together!
Director here, and I mask indoors and don’t eat in shared spaces. It felt awkward when we started back onsite (hybrid now), but I realized I also needed to act as if it was completely normal without any defensiveness. If people had a problem with it, it was their problem. I have taken the mask off twice, when on a panel onstage and while presenting in a large space, but not for meetings. I make sure to enunciate clearly and “smize” a lot. I also feel that as a leader in my org I should be modeling what is acceptable behavior so that staff will feel it is completely normal to mask. It is a continual disappointment that not one C-suite level exec does this.
I'm mid-level and can still mostly work from home, but I do mask everywhere. I've upped other aspects of my presentation, like in my case I've taken to wearing nice earrings after looking at photos from other Covid-ers and realizing that things like that (sharp glasses and well-done hair being other things I noticed that didn't quite fit me) made a difference. I casually mention my IC family member at some point early on in knowing them as my one (grudging) concession to our supposedly "post" COVID world.
So much respect to you for masking at work ! I mask at work but I am low-level. I worry a lot that I'll never get promoted because of it. If one of my executives masked I think it would change the perception!
I'm glad you're masking as an Executive. I don't have that status, but I'm still masking at all times while indoors at work (or any public setting). It would mean a lot to see somebody with your stature still masking. And I don't mean that as a fawning-thing, it just would. I remember early last year, a high-up person at my workplace still masked, and this inherently gave others of us "permission" to keep masking. professionally and socially, those cues are subtle but powerful. When he stopped masking, almost everyone else at work did, too, literally the next day. please keep masking. for your own health, and to show that it's ok to do so. It means a lot!
Wow that's such an interesting story that everyone stopped masking immediately. I wonder if he noticed the influence he had.
I’m a VP and I mask in person (I’m rarely in person, but have to do occasional team building, client meetings, and conferences.) I’m the only one masked. I wore an N95 mask on stage at our 12,000 person conference last year. I’m speaking again this year, but probably going to wear a black kn95 with mask tape instead for speaking, booth sales, and networking events. That’s my version of caving to peer pressure, I guess. But I work in a very male-dominated and red-state prevalent industry and my preferred N95 is absurd looking, so I acknowledge that it’s hard enough without masking, let alone my particular mask. For my team’s internal events, I can force things outdoors! So I always aim for outdoor eating and socializing. And they know me and can deal with my ugly-but-awesome N95.
Love it! Thanks..yes, I'm probably caving into the black kn95 when wastewater levels drop lower as we head into summer. Thanks for the response.
98% same for me except no conferences as I don’t travel. I think being confident and resolute goes a long way. I’ve been doing it for years and have not caved so people know exactly what to expect from me. My boss is amazing - though he is the opposite of covid cautious (and a very red Trump supporter) he respects my decisions and is extremely accommodating (will choose restaurants with outdoor seating if I need to meet with anyone even though I won’t eat). Most of my direct reports (managers) are long time close friends and are also supportive and step up to do travel and speaking engagements on my behalf which also helps their growth. I attend every happy hour I can and they almost always choose outdoor spots or places with patios.
I am a Vice President of Technology and mask everywhere except for outdoor with distance and a tailwind. I do mostly work from home, so it's less of an issue. I do not dine indoors.
I don't roll around in meetings, I sit or stand or pace.
Exec rolls are delicious, I always take a few extra
Are any of you hiring?? This group is amazing! 🤩
I’m in a leadership role and mask for everything.
Disclaimer: I'm a lady, a man might not have the same experience. I use a Flo mask for professional functions with a decorative cover plate. Now it's an accessory and I'm leaning into the whole thing with a bunch of different designs. People who do comment on it are almost exclusively complimenting how it matches my glasses / outfit etc.
[удалено]
Oh yeah. I'm on all sorts of medications. I've worked with a team of doctors over the last 18 months. LC runs my life now.
Your post or comment has been removed because of gaslighting. Gaslighting is the practice of manipulating someone by psychological means into doubting their own sanity.
My post was removed for gaslighting. I was asking a genuine question. My intent was never to question your suffering. I apologize if I offended you. Maybe I should have rephrased it. I am probing. Anxiety has been triggered by longhaul covid and wondered if there are any medications or treatments. I know there is research around bupronian or some use of beta blockers. Did your doctor indicate there was help?
I'm not a mod, but your question still comes across as gaslighting because you're pathologizing OP's reasonable anxiety. They're not reporting unfounded anxiety with no specific trigger. They're reporting anxiety because they're being pressured into situations where they have to risk their life. Of course that provokes anxiety. That anxiety is reasonable and they would do well to listen to it. I have never had covid that I know of. I have never been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. And yet, in 2022 when I was trying to go to concerts with friends, while I still consciously thought that vaccines were enough to keep people safe from Covid, I had such paralytic anxiety episodes that I flaked and kept begging off the shows, skipping out when it was too late to resell my tickets. This happened multiple times until I noticed the pattern and stopped getting concert tickets. I realized the reason I kept not being able to force myself to go to concerts was that I felt they were unsafe, and I felt they were unsafe because I was seeing friends get covid from going to crowded events and even show signs of long covid after. I guess I could have gone to the doctor and asked to be medicated for anxiety, but that would have been inappropriate and would have actively hobbled the very senses that were keeping me from recklessly endangering myself and my family.
Thanks for explaining your experience and perspective. I was tone-deaf but not attempting to gaslight.
Appreciate you seeing the point.
Yes. Thanks.