u/EVQuestions

I was talking to my mom on the phone today while driving home and after I explained a few things that happened at work recently I mentioned, “And our plate washer died.”

I was referring to our ELISA plate washer, but she seemed a little taken aback and responded, “Oh, well they weren’t in your lab were they?”

I chuckled and explained “they” are a piece of equipment and yes, that piece of equipment was in my lab. She laughed and then said she was thinking there was a person who washes the Petri dishes who passed away. And she knows my lab doesn’t use Petri dishes so she assumed the “plate washer” worked in a different lab lol.

I forget sometimes that people who have never worked in a lab might incorrectly interpret what I mean when I say certain words or phrases. I thought this was a funny misunderstanding and thought I’d share with other lab professionals.

I’ve been a supervisor for a little over a year now and every job I worked before I got this role required me to work most major holidays. Part of me feels like I “did my time” and worked really hard to get this promotion. But I also can’t help but feel guilty as I’m wishing my team “Happy Holidays!” while I’m walking out the door to spend the next few days with family and friends while they stay back and work.

Has anyone else struggled with this guilt and, if so, how have you handled it?