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I fully support Cecelie Berry's opinion that crying should be allowed in the workplace--so long as she feels it permissible that men express the intense emotions we sometimes feel in the way it comes natural to us. That would include (but not be limited to) shouting, cursing, punching walls or furniture, or even hitting someone when they really screw up. Sexual banter would be tolerated and even expected, as well as the occasional advance. After all, why limit our natural outbursts of emotions to one form? Or a form accepted by just one gender?
If this modest proposal causes her or other women to squirm in discomfort, so be it, because the alternative is a double standard as unacceptable in the workplace as the actions listed above. I'm not talking about crying on hearing of a death or accident, but using it as a negotiating tool. As a business owner, I can tell you that I could not accept a female employee bursting into tears to justify a bad sales quarter or sloppy work habits any more than I could accept that from a male counterpart. It embarasses co-workers and illustrates poor self-control. So, if Ms. Berry plans to work for herself, she can express all the range of emotions as she sees fit, but so long as women have to work with men a line between what is acceptable and unacceptable by the group must be drawn.
