We got some senior men at my place who all get given nicknames. There’s Billy-the-fish, big Tim, donn-o, dick-o, barnes-ey, big bob and little bob.
Is it just me, or does hearing a man referred to by such a nickname create an aura of mystique and intimidation that just isn’t there is they’re called their regular name (ie Billy the fish is name redacted but it’s a boring name and his surname is fisher).
It seems to be something the allies of a “big dog” will create to consolidate the power of their office daddy, who they r backing and probably relying on for that backed horse to one day pay dividends with a senior role for them.
However, this is never done for women, which surely puts female leaders at a disadvantage.
Should we ban nicknames in the office? I’m sorry but it just seems so reminiscent of lad culture, and anti woman.
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Sounds like the men at your place are actually children.
I’m sure if a nickname was stuck that the woman in question liked, it would be common
I’m curious as to what would be acceptable nicknames for women in the office…
I worked with women who have nicknames I think the issue is that calling someone Big Susan might cause offence and I suppose a lot of women probably feel they have to act more professional to be taken seriously.
If I called a woman “big Jackie” at work, I’d be hauled in front of my boss and someone from HR quicker than I could say my own name.
In my experience, most women just don’t appreciate being spoken to with names like that. That’s probably why it doesn’t exist to the same degree as between men.
That doesn’t mean you ban nicknames, lol. You just allow people to interact with eachother in ways that are mutually acceptable. I really don’t think nicknames exist for the reasons you’ve outlined here.
What a load of bollocks.
Men and women at my work have nicknames. It’s not like they’re called ‘fat cunt Jane’ or anything. Actually, off the top of my head there are more women in my office with nicknames than the men!
Ban nicknames because you don’t have one. Deary me.
Honestly, some people are just looking for reasons to be offended
Not all nicknames are offensive. In my experience they often don’t make much sense. Common sense says putting the word ‘big’ before a persons name is a route to danger. Especially in the office
Sit at your desk.
Do not engage in any casual banter with colleagues
Only work.
You need something better to do with your time. Get a grip, mate.
The only nicknames at my work are when the oldest team member forgets someone’s name and comes up with whatever he wants. He doesn’t discriminate on sex.
All my staff have nicknames. Depends who they are. My Female FD is sugar tits, others are innocent such as Olive the Admin… because she looks like Olive from off the buses. Obviously don’t call her Olive to her face!
Not so much sexist as it is dodging the bullet.
Women – as a matter of gross generality – take offence more easily than males in the workplace and their concerns when raised (especially in todays climate) can often be seen as being significantly more important than their opposite male counterparts.
I’ll have colleagues call another guy “Big Idiot Dan” as an absurd example and never expect a word about it from him (and if we do hear a word about it, we’ll respectfully refrain from using it) whereas I’ve worked in environments where someone has tried extending that same “friendliness” to the females in the department and they’ve been either immediately called out for “insulting” them or secretly reported.
There’s no real way to justify humour in the workplace. You’ll always come off in the wrong if you try to tell HR what you meant. It’s the same concept of people saying, “oh, what’s the joke? I dare you to explain?” Jokes don’t work that way. You either find it funny or you don’t. If you don’t find it funny then you can ruin someone’s livelihood and state they were being whatever -ist feels appropriate for you.
All that being said, I’ve never worked in an environment where other females weren’t being given nicknames too? Their nicknames were surely less prone to being misinterpreted for anything offensive but I’ve never seen this being the case as some kind of blanket ban.
You don’t force a nickname. These are things that come naturally in a way that is mutually agreeable in any group of people – even more so at the workplace.
Good luck calling a women ‘Big’ anything