Shakespeare’s immortal view in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ goes, ‘What’s in a name…’
Well, by the looks of it, a name does matter, especially when it comes to addressing each other in the workplace.
In keeping with the global and contemporary (read American) corporate settings, there is a move to efface formal titles in favour of more relaxed salutations. As such, progressive-thinking and decentralised organisations across the world are doing away with the traditional use of ‘Mr.’, ‘Ms.’ and other professional designations, irrespective of job status, age and longevity. ‘Call me…. (Insert given name)’ is the buzzword, particularly in multi-national organisations as they bend over backwards in promoting the use of first names across hierarchical levels.
A breezy informality is setting in as employees address not only their colleagues and superiors by their first names, but at times extend the privilege to executives, vice-presidents and CEOs too! Thereby, Mr. Sharma now becomes an easy Ritesh and a casual Ritu takes the place of ‘Ms. Bhatia’!
Well, by the looks of it, a name does matter, especially when it comes to addressing each other in the workplace.
In keeping with the global and contemporary (read American) corporate settings, there is a move to efface formal titles in favour of more relaxed salutations. As such, progressive-thinking and decentralised organisations across the world are doing away with the traditional use of ‘Mr.’, ‘Ms.’ and other professional designations, irrespective of job status, age and longevity. ‘Call me…. (Insert given name)’ is the buzzword, particularly in multi-national organisations as they bend over backwards in promoting the use of first names across hierarchical levels.
A breezy informality is setting in as employees address not only their colleagues and superiors by their first names, but at times extend the privilege to executives, vice-presidents and CEOs too! Thereby, Mr. Sharma now becomes an easy Ritesh and a casual Ritu takes the place of ‘Ms. Bhatia’!
The personal touch
The betoken familiarity breeds a relaxed and open work atmosphere, strengthens interpersonal relationships and helps employees to bond with each other. The feeling of casual equality overrides any reverential diffidence and makes workers comfortable with their managers and bosses.
The resultant bonhomie encourages cohesive collaboration and free flow of ideas cutting across hierarchical lines. With a collegial rapport and easy frankness, subordinates are emboldened to give honest feedback and critique the management too.
As a top consultant points out, “This unique open work culture, where everyone is treated equally propels you to speak freely knowing well that your suggestion would be evaluated on its merit rather than your designation or number of years you have put-in’.
And, needless to say, the freedom to approach the top-tier folks and address them sans any ceremony is the greatest status leveller. The democratic overtones define a friendly organisational culture thus fostering open communication, innovation, trust and employee morale.
The betoken familiarity breeds a relaxed and open work atmosphere, strengthens interpersonal relationships and helps employees to bond with each other. The feeling of casual equality overrides any reverential diffidence and makes workers comfortable with their managers and bosses.
The resultant bonhomie encourages cohesive collaboration and free flow of ideas cutting across hierarchical lines. With a collegial rapport and easy frankness, subordinates are emboldened to give honest feedback and critique the management too.
As a top consultant points out, “This unique open work culture, where everyone is treated equally propels you to speak freely knowing well that your suggestion would be evaluated on its merit rather than your designation or number of years you have put-in’.
And, needless to say, the freedom to approach the top-tier folks and address them sans any ceremony is the greatest status leveller. The democratic overtones define a friendly organisational culture thus fostering open communication, innovation, trust and employee morale.
A quandary
Honorific may by and large be deemed unnecessary, but in strict social strata cultures like India, people still prefer traditional titles and find the ‘forced friendliness’ quite offensive.
Employees do not even dream of calling their boss by his first name and find it extremely awkward to address superiors in an informal manner.
The presumption of familiarity makes many people resort to ‘name avoidance’ and clam up completely when they run into their boss, the boss’ boss or the CEO. David Morand, professor of business management at Penn State, USA, reveals in his Black Holes in Social Space study, “When workers were unsure of the norm for addressing superiors, they were likely to avoid calling superiors anything at all. The higher the rank, the less likely people were to address a boss by name!’ This ‘conversational hole’ where nothing is said creates unnecessary tensions in the workplace.
Not only are employees uncomfortable being on a first-name basis with ‘more powerful people’, but it does not go well with many bosses and supervisors too. They want the ego boost of being addressed by a reverential title and actually bristle at the casual use of their forename, deeming it as an ‘insult’ to their position.
Honorific may by and large be deemed unnecessary, but in strict social strata cultures like India, people still prefer traditional titles and find the ‘forced friendliness’ quite offensive.
Employees do not even dream of calling their boss by his first name and find it extremely awkward to address superiors in an informal manner.
The presumption of familiarity makes many people resort to ‘name avoidance’ and clam up completely when they run into their boss, the boss’ boss or the CEO. David Morand, professor of business management at Penn State, USA, reveals in his Black Holes in Social Space study, “When workers were unsure of the norm for addressing superiors, they were likely to avoid calling superiors anything at all. The higher the rank, the less likely people were to address a boss by name!’ This ‘conversational hole’ where nothing is said creates unnecessary tensions in the workplace.
Not only are employees uncomfortable being on a first-name basis with ‘more powerful people’, but it does not go well with many bosses and supervisors too. They want the ego boost of being addressed by a reverential title and actually bristle at the casual use of their forename, deeming it as an ‘insult’ to their position.
The game
If companies really want to bridge the status barriers, they should clear the uncertainty with an explicit policy that spells out the appropriate situations for using first names. It is imperative to reinforce in writing that every person in the chain of command right from the lowest ranked, blue-collar worker to the CEO at the top can and should exchange first names with everyone else.
For instance, a top company issued a formal statement of corporate naming practices as, ‘We avoid the use of titles. Though titles may sometimes be necessary when identifying ourselves to people outside the company, within our offices we address each other by our first names. This policy helps us maintain our small company approach with our people and promotes a spirit of teamwork.’
This further encourages hesitant employees to muster courage to address their superiors by first names. Yet, if someone still cannot bring himself to adopt the pronouncement, the preference for formality (use of last name or title) should be acceptable.
However, this behavioural norm should not be construed as an excuse for displaying disrespect or undermining authority; an element of good manners and basic courtesy is always needed.
Also, managements should remember that merely enforcing a ‘universal first-naming’ rule is not the be-all and end-all for achieving effective communication!
If companies really want to bridge the status barriers, they should clear the uncertainty with an explicit policy that spells out the appropriate situations for using first names. It is imperative to reinforce in writing that every person in the chain of command right from the lowest ranked, blue-collar worker to the CEO at the top can and should exchange first names with everyone else.
For instance, a top company issued a formal statement of corporate naming practices as, ‘We avoid the use of titles. Though titles may sometimes be necessary when identifying ourselves to people outside the company, within our offices we address each other by our first names. This policy helps us maintain our small company approach with our people and promotes a spirit of teamwork.’
This further encourages hesitant employees to muster courage to address their superiors by first names. Yet, if someone still cannot bring himself to adopt the pronouncement, the preference for formality (use of last name or title) should be acceptable.
However, this behavioural norm should not be construed as an excuse for displaying disrespect or undermining authority; an element of good manners and basic courtesy is always needed.
Also, managements should remember that merely enforcing a ‘universal first-naming’ rule is not the be-all and end-all for achieving effective communication!
PAYAL CHANANIA
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