There is often a ‘mom’ figure in every friend group, and in most office environments you will find a ‘mom’ figure as well. I have been dubbed the ‘office mom’ on several occasions, and as such I have created a list of signs that may help you identify if you are about to be labelled the ‘office mom.’

1. You have all the home remedies for anyone’s ailments. If colleagues mention they have an ailment and you instantly rhyme off a list of home remedies, you are possibly the office mom. If you then find yourself administering ear drops, eye drops and medications to fellow co-workers, you are definitely one step closer to this title.
2. Always prepared. Travelling for work happens and self-care, along with healthy eating, is a priority. The office mom brings along snacks—not only to cover her time away—but packs enough fruit, granola bars and protein shakes for everyone on her team. She also makes sure everyone is well-hydrated by lugging around water, and in the case of emergencies, she pulls out the coconut water for quick re-hydration.
3. You are the office alert. Sometimes co-workers can be forgetful and sometimes it is necessary to make yourself a reminder list to ensure that you are on top of those who may forget. Moms like to plan ahead and be prepared for anything and everything. You may find yourself consistently asking or reminding your colleagues that the team needs to make a plan for an upcoming conference and you may even call a meeting to discuss the itinerary.
4. The younger generations laugh at your language. If you are a mom and you refer to ear buds as ear buds, I warn that you do not attempt this in front of your office millennials. You will be looked at as though you are from the moon and quickly informed that ear buds don’t exist. You will be re-directed by those millennials that those little white ‘buds’ that are placed in the ‘bud’ of your ear are in fact called head phones (not sure when this happened, but I have been told).
5. You watch over the younger generations. Even though those millennials chuckle and re-direct you, you find yourself watching out for them. You make sure they are included, taken care of, drive safely, stay hydrated and happy.
6. Intuition coupled with ‘the mom look’. You know the look. It may be the look of disapproval, the look of ‘are you sure that is a good choice?’ or ‘are you sure you are being truthful?’ Moms have intuition and cannot help but have that play out in our daily tasks. If you find yourself giving these looks you are certainly one step closer to this title.
7. You are the master of bad puns. You love a clever play on words. Your puns just naturally enter all conversations and you laugh at your own punny-ness. These are all possible signs you are or are about to be labelled the ‘office mom.’ A definite sign that this label is imminent is when the millennials of the office respond with any combination of the following: eye rolling, uttering ‘oh my god’, inserting ear buds, turning their chair back to their computer monitor or simply walking away from your desk.
8. Your co-workers refer to you as their ‘work mom.’ If you have EVER been referred to—even just once—as someone’s ‘work mom’ then you are definitely the ‘office mom.’

If you have fallen under any of the above mentioned signs, I must inform you that you may be the ‘office mom.’ Take the title and wear it proud! Don’t stop doing what you do, share those puns as frequently as you can, give those looks and always be prepared!

Cheers!