For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 22, 2009

Sure, as long as I don’t have to talk to you, John! xD

Seems like she’s BEEN ready for a break.

Barely started and she’s already ready for the quieting mad house at home!

I think many are missing the point… her “Oh please” isn’t “Please let me take a break”, but more like “Oh please! This is nothing compared to home!”

Anysia is “spot on” …..glad to see someone else came away with my take;)

I read sarcasim in that Please

That’s not the intention. Notice her eyes bugging out and no smile. She needs a break. Also, notice the ellipsis after “Oh…” indicating a pause. She’s stressed out from multitasking and having to say “please” all the time.

She seems to be enjoying herself. Maybe she’s not ready for a break yet. As for being paid we have not been informed as to whether or not John is going to pay her. I only have two words for him, HE’D BETTER!!

I think she’s just thrilled to have adults to talk to who respond to the word “please”…

Gigantor - I am afraid I have to disagree with you. She is perfectly relaxed and happy all the while doing the office multitasking. It is John’s assumption that this is difficult and a burden to her by wondering if she is already swamped and needing a break shows that he has no comprehension of the life as a housewife and mother. I both worked and had the full responsibility of the home and kids and I do know full well which is the most demanding.

i like panel 3 expression :)

I don’t think John is assuming anything… he’s just asking if she wants a break yet. My boss does that too…. nothing is intended by it. I agree with Anysia, et.al, the “Oh please” is intended to convey that she doesn’t need one.

John might be clueless, but he’s really not a bad guy. There are a lot worse husbands out there.

How humiliating that she does not have a profession of her own & has to do the lowly secretarial work while John gets to be the big doctor. Ugh. I’d never settle for being a “Ms” if my husband were a “Dr.”, nor would I ever be his “assistant.” How demeaning for Elly!

Good job Elly.

Your right, it’s nothing compared to the multi-tasking you have to do at home.

Don’t care about offending people. It’s more important to tell it like it is.

Gotta wonder if Jon is really going to pay her … LOL!

To everyone who thinks she’s having a good time, she’s a secretary, its part of her job to be friendly. In the 4th panel, she looks like she’s ready to tear someones head off.

Rowena28: Just because you don’t like secretarial work (or in Ellie’s case - receptionist) doesn’t make it lowly or demeaning. I’m an accountant, and just because most people call me a bean-counter and don’t like working with numbers the way I enjoy it, doesn’t make my job boring, bad or lowly. As long as you enjoy your job, there’s nothing lowly or demeaning about it.

I don’t think I would care to be around you, Rowena. You take on the appearance of being an arrogant hard nosed controller. Thanks, but no thanks.

Ever try being a little humble?

This isn’t a matter of opinion. The support staff are, in fact, beneath the people they support. They don’t command the same salaries, benefits, or professional respect. nor have the same educational requirements. Try going into a law firm and telling me the female legal secretaries aren’t beneath the female attorneys in the hierarchy. You will be disabused of that notion within 5 minutes!

It’s as if you are saying that being the janitor in a university isn’t lowly or demeaning as compared to being a full professor with a doctorate. It is demeaning to clean toilets, just as it is to answer someone else’s phone & keep their calendar, as if they were more important than you, and their time more important than yours. A secretary is a professional extension of a housewife, the kind of woman who signs her name “Mrs. John Smith” because she has no legal or personal identity of her own after marriage. It is by its nature demeaning to be support staff.

Again, this is fact, not my personal opinion only.

wow, i think elly really likes working in johns office, and if you look at things, she is doing a lot less there than at home.

i took 2 weeks off work and sent my wife back east to visit her family when i was living in california, after that 2 weeks, i had a whole new respect for her life and the things she did.

rowena, it seems you need an attitude adjustment. how can honest work be demeaning? if you do whatever you can do in order to support yourself, instead of sponging off the public in some way, that is always worthy of respect. and don’t read this as a put down of folks on welfare. i said, “do whatever you can do.” if you can’t do, that isn’t worthy of scorn either.

rowena, up until the 20th century, being a secretary was mens work. I wouldn’t want to have told those men that they were “housewives”. Being a secretary was an honorable profession, it meant not having to do manual labor. Then, when the men went off to war, the women stepped up and filled those positions, as well as other jobs. You do have a big chip on your shoulder. No job has to be demeaning; it depends on the feelings of the person doing the job. Even John understands that EVERY one on his staff is important to getting the job done. If he answered his own phone and dealt with the insurance paperwork, then he could see very few patients. His receptionist is important, which is why he asked Ellie to fill in. Being a janitor is not demeaning, it is honest, worthy work. Get over yourself.

My read: the “please” is emphasized because it’s in every single sentence she’s said up until then. And it’s a “YES PLEASE!” not a “i don’t need no stinkin’ break” sarcastic please.

So, Rowena, I’m a professional extension of a housewife?

Like any ecosystem, a company or organization is a system. There are many roles to fill and each one is essential to the functioning of the organization. If everyone were at the top and no one existed to provide the day-to-day support and maintenance, the organization wouldn’t last long.

With no janitors or support staff, a doctor’s office would not be able to last long with a full patient load.

Thank you to Burgundy & all those who defend the honor of us Secretaries/Receptionists/Assistants. I do not see my position as being in anyway lowly or demeaning. I am a valuable memeber of a team. While my role on the team may be different than others, it is still just as important. While the Right Guard may not get the praise (or pay) of the Quarterback, it doesn’t mean that he is less of a player, or any less important to the team.

rowena28 you need to seriously check where you’re getting your so-called ”facts” from. Just because YOU believe something to be fact, doesn’t automatically make it so!!

I don’t recall seeing you on here before, at least not since I’ve been on here, yet you have managed in just one visit to portray yourself in a, shall we say, rather less than favorable light! It’s a shame.

Maybe you should just move along, unless you plan on being a little less forceful with your opinions from now on. And yes, they ARE your opinions; they are not ”FACTS” like you keep insisting. You would do better to try to keep things in perspective, if you’re able to :o)

It’s all in how you get treated by those who are above you in the hierarchy. If they treat you like some menial you may end up getting that kind of impression about yourself even if you have a pretty good self image otherwise. I think being a receptionist or secretary would be a good job, you work in a nice clean environment and it seems pleasant enough. I’ve had worse jobs believe me, where people really do look upon you as some sort of slave.

It’s all in how you get treated by those who are above you in the hierarchy. If they treat you like some menial you may end up getting that kind of impression about yourself even if you have a pretty good self image otherwise. I think being a receptionist or secretary would be a good job, you work in a nice clean environment and it seems pleasant enough. I’ve had worse jobs believe me, where people really do look upon you as some sort of slave.

Rowena, you are whats wrong with America. You sound like an elitist witch with a B. What ever happened to an honest days work for an honest day’s pay.

whether a person is digging a ditch, flipping burgers, performing neonatal surgery, or running a country they should take pride in their work and what they do.

I have known secretaries, janitors, lawyers, and doctors. Millionaires and people on welfare. I’ve lived, worked, gone on vacation with people of all walks of life. I’ve seen millionaires who I wouldn’t want to see again, and poor people whom seem wiser then Einstein. A person’s value is not based on their degree, profession, or their wealth, but instead on how they act. If you don’t know this by now, your just a sad person.

As to the comic - I think she is feeling stressed.

Wolfdreamer250 Amen to that - great post :-)

My dentist’s wife is a very respected artist here but she often chips in at her husband’s office. Nothing whatsoever demeaning about it.

mroberts88,

Exactly. I know some assistants in a medical office. They have to go through the day with smiles on their faces for the clients but if you see them behind the scenes, they’re often frazzled by all the duties. Come on, people. Are you sure you’ve actually read FBoFW for a while? Since when would a sarcastic “Oh, please!” be in character for Elly? The point of the strip is getting out of the house is not turning out to be as easy or fun as she thought it would be.

I have held many jobs including math/science high school teacher for 25 years, research biologist in biochemical genetics and molecular biology and twice as a secretary. I felt all my jobs were very worthwhile and actually my most prestigious (and best paid) one as a researcher was the one I would be least missed as a valuable contributor to the smooth functioning of the organization. I always get acquainted with all the service people wherever I work, as they are the ones that keep the organization moving smoothly and efficiently and the ones that are most indispensable.

Now wait a minute. I did not say that secretaries, janitors, etc., were not essential to the functioning of an organization; I said they don’t command respect for the work they do. If you think they do, then you are the one that needs a reality check.

A real life example from reality: a pregnant secretary that I know at a law firm was surprised to discover that that she did not receive paid maternity leave. During her tenure there, she had seen numerous female attorneys go on maternity leave and she did not realize that different rules applied to secretaries. When she demanded it, they laughed at her. She quit.

One could argue that teaching small children is an extremely important job for the good of society but it also is a job that commands little respect and low pay.

I worked my way through college as an office temp & observed the office politics in many settings – law firms, insurance companies, architecture firms, banks, manufacturers, etc. I later had my own secretary during my career. I know whereof I speak.

Rowena 28– It saddens me that you do not respect your secretary. Plenty of other people do. It is people like you, who for some reason insist these people are not worthy of respect, that are the problem. Perhaps you should adjust your attitude and become part of the solution.

And before you argue that you do respect your secretary, consider this. If you respect her, then secretaries do command respect, and your argument is moot. The ignorant and bigoted should not represent the whole.

Rowena, one last thing. Just because her company did that to her doesn’t mean it’s right or that it’s that way everywhere. It’s a sad company that she worked for and not at all the role model of companies who value every employee. That attitude should stop and you should not continue to ooze its bad example here.