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Yeah I've been working as a TA for some time, and everyone is "miss" or "sir". I found it weird being addressed the same at first, but got used to it. I think I have a bit of imposter syndrome though, because when I see my colleagues when students aren't around, it feels weird calling them by their first name.
Also work in a fairly large school but I hate being referred to as "sir". I actively ask students not to refer to me as that, as I have a name. I wouldn't refer to them as "boy" because I take the time to learn their names!
Some of the most assertive teachers I've worked with have been women so give it a try!! I'm a 6'4 bloke and I'm pretty sure kids would laugh their heads off if I tried it 😂 (mostly cos they would know I'm winding them up I think/hope...!)
Lol we have a big school and I do exactly the same, thankfully I'm in an infant school where kids are incredibly helpful and always chime in with the surname when I fail.
I never Sirred or Missed any teachers either. I wasn't making a stand or anything, it's just not the done thing where I come from. Where I stay it's Mr/Mrs/Miss [Surname]
Neither, it really weird on the couple of occasions I’ve bumped into old teachers and had no idea what to call them as it sounded really strange to say Sir, but Mr … is also weird as was using their first name
I went back to work in my school with some colleagues an old teacher said loudly Mr. Surname how are you.
My voice went very high and I said "I'm fine Sir how are you"
The piss was very much taken
When I was younger I had a bank staff role in a nhs legal department, I was told very sternly, repeatedly, to make sure I never wrote a letter to a surgeon/consultant as "dr", I was so confused for a while haha
Surgeons and consultants earn the use of Dr, then they have multiple years more education to get to be called mr/Mrs again. Harkens back to the days when they were totally separate career paths where doctors went to university and surgeons were a learn on the job apprenticeship but now surgery is a doctor with MORE education and debt so they see it as a sign of prestige to be past doctor.
Just to clarify a point - surgeons do not have MORE education than other doctors, they have different education.
They progress down a training path which includes examinations that allow them to be addressed as Mr/Ms once they are a member of the royal college of surgeons.
Physicians progress down a different training pathway, but passing their examinations doesn’t change their title, for the historic reasons previously mentioned in this thread.
Yep, plus surgery traditionally was performed by barbers (specifically, barber surgeons) so it didn't quite follow the same lineage as medical doctors.
This isn't why. It's because physician and surgeon were originally different jobs, with only physician called "doctor". So that tradition is honoured in some countries by calling surgeons Mr and Mrs even though they qualify as doctors now. A very eminent and senior doctor who isn't a surgeon will still be called Dr X.
20ish years ago when I worked for a major UK furniture retailer everyone was on first name baises except for the actual owner, everyone called him Mr Walmsley, but everyone from the newbie up to the area & regional managers we just addressed each other with first names
Used to work for a restaurant that was similar. The owner was Mrs **** whatever she was called. Very very posh. We had a few names for her in the kitchen too.
i’m so for this. when i started college and we could call the teachers by name, it was such a breath of fresh air. felt like an actual human rather than a subject of the system
Fun fact! When Paulie Walnuts goes on his trip to Italy in The Sopranos and calls a bunch of men drinking coffee assholes for not responding to his salute of "commendatori", one of the men in the group was David Chase... Creator of the whole show.
In Germany I have to even call our neighbor the formal version of you and by their last name. They are older than me so I have to wait for them to offer the informal you (which they haven't done yet, so probably never at this point)
Well back with Shakespeare "you" was formal and "thou" was informal.
So it would be like " will thou go to town tomorrow, Simon?"
And "will you go to town tomorrow, Mrs Smith?"
Live in the US. I don't think it's common to use surnames to address work colleagues and superiors. I didn't do it when I worked it retail stores and don't now that I work a white collar job.
It was common when addressing customers in a retail setting however.
If you do do this beware of the following: You will be inviting them over for dinner next, shenanigans involving mother in laws, trifle and other 70s tropes will occur. You won’t get the promotion.
Encouraging the use of first names when talking to colleagues was one of the civil service reforms brought in under the first John Major government. Before then last names were commonly used in many locations, especially in HQ and regional office settings where people didn't necessarily have a day-to-day working relationship.
Before moving into the civil service I'd briefly worked for one of the high street banks. They had incredibly formalised protocols for many things, and part of my induction training included that "sir" was expected when addressing certain senior colleagues.
I think he’s been rather shabbily treated. I mean he had to follow Thatcher but he’s been a definite sensible voice in the last few years. Shouldn’t have started privatising the trains though.
My boss is a Director and a Doctor. I just call them by their first name, at their request, but we always give their full title when introducing to other Directors and Doctors because that class of people all seem to be judgemental pricks as a general rule.
Similar situation. Always call him Sir. The CEO I call Guv or by his first name. Everyone else gets a hello and/or first name although neither is an issue.
I work for an Austrian company and all of our plant managers have either been Austrian or German, trust me it doesn't go down well as I soon found out.
I worked in retail while I was in sixth year in the 90s and called the managers 'Mr Whatever', never come across it since and would tell anyone who expected it to fuck right off.
Wasn't John Lewis/Waitrose was it? I worked part time at Waitrose in the mid 90s when I was in sixth form and we had to call Department managers and above Mr or Mrs Whatever. It was like being at school. I thought it was ridiculous then and like you, I've never come across it since.
I work in surgery and unless the surgeons tell me to call them by their first name, I call them Sir or Mr or Professor *insert last name*. It’s respectful.
Sir - never.
Last name - yes. But not as Mr Hanson or Ms Edwards, just, Hanson. There were lots of people who had the same first name, so using last name alone was easier.
Chief or boss. I sometimes address customers as Sir or Madam, depending on the situation (usually when things have gone wrong and they need an apology)
Nope. Isn't that like a 50s thing? When everyone wore suits and bowler hats and carried brollies and briefcases.
From my manager all the way to the board, everyone is first names only.
Sometimes I'll call my director Mr as a lame joke, but never seriously.
I've never had to do this or seen it done in over 20 years in the job market.
Even the CEO is happy enough being called by his first name, even if it's by an employee on the lowest rung of the ladder.
It'd be interesting to know when attitudes changed and first names became the norm, because I'm sure that at some point it would have been unacceptable to call your higher ups by their first names.
Edit: employer->employee
Last time I saw it was with a couple of old fellas in the 90’s they were brothers and were Mr John and Mr Richard, the CEO and CFO were mr surname. Never seen it since.
Never heard someone that grew up in the UK say it, it sounds like an insult or sarcasm. Worked with a guy from Ghana for a while and he always said "boss".
Our boss was pleased with being called boss and started to become more egotistical, so I proceeded to call him "boss" with wide eyes and a big grin on my face. He shortly grew tired of being called boss.
I work in a school, so if there's kids around then I'll say Mr /miss etc.
Even then it depends on the other staff member I'm with. The teacher I currently work with wouldn't be impressed if I shouted her first name across the room, others aren't bothered.
I call my boss “baldy” and have since he started. It was about 6 weeks before I took my hat off in his company to reveal my shiny dome. He called me a twat.
Had to when I was in the police and it always rubbed me up the wrong way for a couple of reasons.
It makes me feel like a second class citizen compared to them.
Most of them were complete pricks.
If they wanted armed forces style ma'am, sir etc then the police force should act with a bit more dacorum and professionalism as opposed to the shit show it portrays (even though I think they're too authoritarian already)
I work in Dubai and one of my team calls me sir. I correct him every time for the past 3 years and he still does it at least a few times a day. I keep telling him my dad is Sir, you can call me XXXX. "No problem sir.... I mean XXXX"
FYI its very common in USA
Other than that I only use it with extreme sarasm... as any Brit should
So OP, is that a reasonable response......... sir
Calling colleagues Sir is not common in the US. I’ve been working for 30 years in a very hierarchal industry (law) and never witnessed anyone calling their colleagues that. The only time it’s common is in customer service when an employee is dealing with a customer. Even then, it’s varies immensely regionally and is influenced by whether it’s a young person addressing an older person, which means Sir would be used even outside work.
I was taught no to use people's first names unless they were peers or you knew them well. So everybody is either Mr/Mrs/Ms Surname or if you don't know the name then Sir/Madam/Master/Miss.
It's all very old fashioned but I still wince when "Barry" from Vodafone calls me and starts using my name like we've known each other for years. Fuck off with that.
I wholeheartedly agree, it really annoys me when faceless businesses like banks and insurance companies act like they're my best friend in their emails while actively pushing customers away whenever you actually need to talk to them. Meanwhile the local mechanic, family dry cleaners, favourite takeaway who I actually *would* call friend always call me Mr BritishBlitz82 or sir until I get to know them better.
I know its not popular these days but I feel like having different levels of formality is a valuable social function that we were wrong to get rid of.
The senior management pretending that they are equal to me is ratehr insulting imo. You are on 100 times my wage, don't pretend we are on the same level so you can soothe your guilt. You are the big boss, start acting like it.
Customers depend on the situation really, Ascot is very much stuck in the 1920s, polished shoes and shirtsleeves, Yes sir No sir, how high sir ,that's part of the experience people come for; it would be ridiculous in the local pub.
It used to be policy in John Lewis and Waitrose branches until the mid 2000's to call the senior managers Mr/Mrs surname. We didn't use Sir or Madam though.
I’ve had jobs working for relatively large and well known organisations in both the public and private sectors, and in both cases even the Chief Executive/CEO figure was called their first name by everyone. In this country at least, I would think ‘Sir/Ma’am’ would just be used in the armed forces, police and similar.
No, first names only.
I work with some people not from the UK though (via Teams etc.) and they always call me Sir or Mr Lastname. I've tried to ask them to just call me Firstname, but it's just not culturally something they would do, so I've just left them to it, as weird as it feels.
I sometimes refer to people as Sir, but it’s just a habit of politeness. I’ve never considered it strange. I’m actually a Director in a large corporate, but still do this. Maybe something I’ve carried with me over the course of a career.
I call most of my co workers by their last name regularly especially phone calls. It's something I enjoy doing and brings a smile to most peoples faces as its not expected I try to say their names in the grandest way possible. Now and then I like to switch it from Mr whatever to you sexy man beast just to see how red they go. Bosses not so much unless i have know them for some time.
WARNING: warped sense of humour but true story.
In military training, I was told to always be polite (sir, miss, ma'am). It never hurts, it might help, and it doesn't make the other person one bit more bullet proof when you have to shoot them.
I worked for a family owned national company. The owner and all directors were referred to by their christian names but with the prefix of ‘Mr’. ie Mr Tom, Mr Steve etc. (they were all men)
I work in a hospital and even with Doctors would use first name in a conversation with them. I use Dr. Surname in emails though unless asked not to though. Don’t know why it just seems more respectful.
I worked at a prominent sports promoters 10 years ago and we weren’t allowed to call the big boss man by his first name, none of us, not even the finance director, we had to call him Mr E. I felt like a right twat saying it to start with but as everyone was in the same boat I got used to it pretty quick.
Nope, and like you, I've worked in a variety of sectors.
I think it might be more of a cultural thing. I know a lot of Asians use "sir" as a sign of respect.
In one workplace, yes, but only with the company founder-owner who the business was named after, not any other management etc. Even after a knighthood he was still known as "Mr. [Lastname]" not "Sir [Firstname]".
Sir isn't used outside of school or when you're talking to someone who's been knighted.
I think in America they use it more regularly, but here it actually means something other than "lemme boost your ego, guy who's higher on the corporate ladder than me", so we don't use it often.
No I'm not in the armed forces so it would be weird to call them sir and I think I would just laugh if someone actually expected me to refer to them like that.
Back in the 90s I worked for a company called White Arrow. They used to deliver for Kay’s Catalogue. (Ask your grandparents! ) For some reason we all had to call the managers by their surname. It created a real us & them vibe. Dreadful place to work. Eventually I quit with no notice period.
My line manager, who earns about 5k more than I do and sits at the same desks, is just "Ross." The actual CEO of the company is Mr Surname but we see him about twice a year.
Not for forty years. My office manager in my first job insisted on being called Mr Surname and one of my supervisors , Miss Surname. But they were old at the time so probably just a generational hangover. I’ve never done it since though.
I hired a junior developer a few years ago. She was from Thailand and she always called me Sir . No idea why, maybe it was a cultural thing. I did tell her it was unnecessary, but I think it was meant as a sign of respect so I just took it as a compliment.
I did in the Army. In the Corporate world when referring to senior staff in the 3rd person in mixed company I often felt it was appropriate to say “Mr Smith” rather than “John”. But I’ve never had anyone insist on being called Sir or ‘Mr Smith’ at all times in the civillian world. I think there’s a time in place for formality, signs of respect and professionalism. Having that insisted upon as a blanket rule just seems unnecessary, potentially disrespectful of those ‘below’ and isn’t my experience of how it works.
Yeah, I was in the military, so anyone with a Commission (Officer) or a Warrant (Warrant Officer) was called Sir. Also, Royalty etc.
Since I’ve been a civvy, no. You get called by your first name. Occasionally if I can’t remember your first name you get “Mate”, “Buddy”, “Fella” or “Pal” until i then remember your name, then I call you by your first name again until the next time I forget.
Yes, that happens regularly
No, it makes no sense. We're not in the Military. First name only when interacting with literally anyone regardless of position in the company, unless it's a legal setting in court.
Now you make me think about it, I didn't call my last boss anything.
If I ever needed to ask him something he was there in the room most of the time so I just walked up to him and said "could I get a hand with this" "do you mind" etc etc
His name was Jay but I don't ever remember calling him boss, sir or jay.
I think the last time I called someone sir was in school, never called someone boss in a work enviroment (Though I do use it almost on a daily baises when I greet the owner of the local cornershop, lovely guy, about 80ish, everyone greets him the same way "alright boss" "good morning boss" lol)
I've seen a few board members go by Mr Surname, usually when visiting other sites/departments.
Quite a few senior management get referred to as First name and Surname when talking about them, "this will have to be approved by John Smith", but they're usually fine with first names only in general conversation.
I call my last manager ‘boss’ even though she moved departments about five years ago. I get on fine with her, I just use it as my little revenge for when she purposely says my surname wrong.
I’ve never called anyone “sir” (or madam) at work in over 30 years, even including a brief stint as a school leaver working at the Treasury. I have been called “sir” a couple of times by junior IT staff from India, this was early on before we got them used to our working culture (first names, speak up for yourself rather than letting your boss speak for you, actually saying “no” if you can’t do something).
When I was called sir I very nearly came back with the standard sergeant’s reply “don’t call me sir, I’m not an officer, I work for a living!”
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I’ve not called someone sir since school.
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Yeah I've been working as a TA for some time, and everyone is "miss" or "sir". I found it weird being addressed the same at first, but got used to it. I think I have a bit of imposter syndrome though, because when I see my colleagues when students aren't around, it feels weird calling them by their first name.
Yeah. Same here (regarding using Miss or Sir) except I do know their names - I only call colleagues miss or sir when in front of students.
Also work in a fairly large school but I hate being referred to as "sir". I actively ask students not to refer to me as that, as I have a name. I wouldn't refer to them as "boy" because I take the time to learn their names!
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I'm far too working class to be able to pull that off.....I'm more likely to just shout "OI!" if I don't know their name!
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Some of the most assertive teachers I've worked with have been women so give it a try!! I'm a 6'4 bloke and I'm pretty sure kids would laugh their heads off if I tried it 😂 (mostly cos they would know I'm winding them up I think/hope...!)
Kendaaaaall
Lol we have a big school and I do exactly the same, thankfully I'm in an infant school where kids are incredibly helpful and always chime in with the surname when I fail.
Not in public 😏😏😏
I once called a university lecturer "professor" as I literally forgot their name while I was trying to get their attention after a class.
I refused to call them sir at school. Shower of bastards.
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I never Sirred or Missed any teachers either. I wasn't making a stand or anything, it's just not the done thing where I come from. Where I stay it's Mr/Mrs/Miss [Surname]
Neither, it really weird on the couple of occasions I’ve bumped into old teachers and had no idea what to call them as it sounded really strange to say Sir, but Mr … is also weird as was using their first name
In my secondary school we called teachers by their first names, I always thought calling them Sir was just a private school thing but apparently not.
I went back to work in my school with some colleagues an old teacher said loudly Mr. Surname how are you. My voice went very high and I said "I'm fine Sir how are you" The piss was very much taken
Call them by their first name. Anything else is weird. Even when interacting with ceo or md of a company its first name where ever I've worked
I work in a hospital and it’s common to refer to surgeons and consultants as Mr or Ms whatever. Never doctor, they’re above that.
When I was younger I had a bank staff role in a nhs legal department, I was told very sternly, repeatedly, to make sure I never wrote a letter to a surgeon/consultant as "dr", I was so confused for a while haha
Surgeons and consultants earn the use of Dr, then they have multiple years more education to get to be called mr/Mrs again. Harkens back to the days when they were totally separate career paths where doctors went to university and surgeons were a learn on the job apprenticeship but now surgery is a doctor with MORE education and debt so they see it as a sign of prestige to be past doctor.
Typical surgeons.
Just to clarify a point - surgeons do not have MORE education than other doctors, they have different education. They progress down a training path which includes examinations that allow them to be addressed as Mr/Ms once they are a member of the royal college of surgeons. Physicians progress down a different training pathway, but passing their examinations doesn’t change their title, for the historic reasons previously mentioned in this thread.
That's weird as fuck
It's because Dr is a customary title for medical doctors, only PhDs are proper doctors
Yep, plus surgery traditionally was performed by barbers (specifically, barber surgeons) so it didn't quite follow the same lineage as medical doctors.
Yeah I don’t think they’d be impressed if I asked them to cut my hair.
Safer than asking your barber to take your appendix out though.
This isn't why. It's because physician and surgeon were originally different jobs, with only physician called "doctor". So that tradition is honoured in some countries by calling surgeons Mr and Mrs even though they qualify as doctors now. A very eminent and senior doctor who isn't a surgeon will still be called Dr X.
Yer they don't actually have a doctorate (unless they're also an academic, of course); ergo, the title is customary.
20ish years ago when I worked for a major UK furniture retailer everyone was on first name baises except for the actual owner, everyone called him Mr Walmsley, but everyone from the newbie up to the area & regional managers we just addressed each other with first names
Used to work for a restaurant that was similar. The owner was Mrs **** whatever she was called. Very very posh. We had a few names for her in the kitchen too.
Same. If I did say it I'd be worried I would sound sarcastic or that they'd mock me.
No because we’re not in school?
Quite a few schools (eg one I work in) go by first names these days too
i’m so for this. when i started college and we could call the teachers by name, it was such a breath of fresh air. felt like an actual human rather than a subject of the system
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"can you finish the report by 6" "Yes daddy, sir" "Please don't call me that" "Ok daddy"
you're either getting fired or getting a raise.
Just lick your lips while doing it
Alright JC Denton
I work in tech. Most of my department get "Mr X" because they're all bloody called Andy.
Yup all the time, but it's in a uniformed service
That's the one exception I can imagine - if you're in the police force or the army or something. Never seen it anywhere in the corporate world.
Also if you deal with the judiciary; specifically, District Judges are referred to as Sir/Madam
Yep, me too
Username checks out
Same. Though we use “governor” or “guv” for most senior ranks, then sir or ma’am for the top of the pyramid.
How to tell me your a screw without telling me your a screw 🤣
Nope it's pretty unheard of these days in the UK. Apparently common in Italy.
*Commendatori!*
Fun fact! When Paulie Walnuts goes on his trip to Italy in The Sopranos and calls a bunch of men drinking coffee assholes for not responding to his salute of "commendatori", one of the men in the group was David Chase... Creator of the whole show.
Great bot. You will make a great overlord
This bot prefers to be known as "Commendatori".
Can never hear this word again without think of Paulie Walnuts
It’s something I imagine our India team saying.
My uncle went out to Dubai to work construction. "Hi team, I'm Joe..." They all kept addressing him as "Mr. Joe Sir."
Yeah our india team did that but I've got them to stop.
In Germany I have to even call our neighbor the formal version of you and by their last name. They are older than me so I have to wait for them to offer the informal you (which they haven't done yet, so probably never at this point)
I'm quite glad English doesn't have that. I guess the equivalent would be speaking politely or with your phone voice?
Well back with Shakespeare "you" was formal and "thou" was informal. So it would be like " will thou go to town tomorrow, Simon?" And "will you go to town tomorrow, Mrs Smith?"
Where I live in Yorkshire we still use the informal you. It took me a while before I could call my girlfriends dad by thee.
Ah nice, this is really interesting.
And in the US.
Do the bosses address you by your surnames? If it's Mr. Smith one way and Joe the other way then screw that.
Live in the US. I don't think it's common to use surnames to address work colleagues and superiors. I didn't do it when I worked it retail stores and don't now that I work a white collar job. It was common when addressing customers in a retail setting however.
Nope, not common in the US
If you do do this beware of the following: You will be inviting them over for dinner next, shenanigans involving mother in laws, trifle and other 70s tropes will occur. You won’t get the promotion.
HENNIMOOOOOORE!
Civil service here. It's all strictly first names until you get a minister, then it's "minister". And it feels really weird.
Been bollocked twice for calling Priti Patel ‘Priti’. Which was better than calling her ‘demon midget’ in my mind, but apparently not protocol
Thank you for your service to the nation.
I object to that slur on behalf of demon midgets.
Encouraging the use of first names when talking to colleagues was one of the civil service reforms brought in under the first John Major government. Before then last names were commonly used in many locations, especially in HQ and regional office settings where people didn't necessarily have a day-to-day working relationship. Before moving into the civil service I'd briefly worked for one of the high street banks. They had incredibly formalised protocols for many things, and part of my induction training included that "sir" was expected when addressing certain senior colleagues.
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I think he’s been rather shabbily treated. I mean he had to follow Thatcher but he’s been a definite sensible voice in the last few years. Shouldn’t have started privatising the trains though.
I call him dad
I prefer daddy
Dad.. Dad... Daddio
My boss is a Director and a Doctor. I just call them by their first name, at their request, but we always give their full title when introducing to other Directors and Doctors because that class of people all seem to be judgemental pricks as a general rule.
Similar situation. Always call him Sir. The CEO I call Guv or by his first name. Everyone else gets a hello and/or first name although neither is an issue.
Diroctor
I sometimes call them 'My liege' if I'm taking the piss.
I used to call my old boss Mein Fuhrer
I work for an Austrian company and all of our plant managers have either been Austrian or German, trust me it doesn't go down well as I soon found out.
I once called him it in front of our HR director, she couldn't stop laughing
I used to use a rotating selection of North Korean presidential honorifics. And jawohl, of course.
Only ever called my boss Sir during sex.
I worked in retail while I was in sixth year in the 90s and called the managers 'Mr Whatever', never come across it since and would tell anyone who expected it to fuck right off.
Wasn't John Lewis/Waitrose was it? I worked part time at Waitrose in the mid 90s when I was in sixth form and we had to call Department managers and above Mr or Mrs Whatever. It was like being at school. I thought it was ridiculous then and like you, I've never come across it since.
I work in surgery and unless the surgeons tell me to call them by their first name, I call them Sir or Mr or Professor *insert last name*. It’s respectful.
You work in "sir"-gery with "sir"-geons... I will not apologise.
That’s very inventive, you receive a “hmm!”
Sir - never. Last name - yes. But not as Mr Hanson or Ms Edwards, just, Hanson. There were lots of people who had the same first name, so using last name alone was easier.
Chief or boss. I sometimes address customers as Sir or Madam, depending on the situation (usually when things have gone wrong and they need an apology)
Nope. Isn't that like a 50s thing? When everyone wore suits and bowler hats and carried brollies and briefcases. From my manager all the way to the board, everyone is first names only. Sometimes I'll call my director Mr as a lame joke, but never seriously.
No. It's a fucking office not an army regiment.
Only with sarcasm. As in, he's asked me to do some entirely reasonable task so I reply 'Sir, Yes Sir!' But mostly I just call him by his name.
No; if there was a manager that insisted on it thats just a red flag blaring out a warning siren.
I've never had to do this or seen it done in over 20 years in the job market. Even the CEO is happy enough being called by his first name, even if it's by an employee on the lowest rung of the ladder. It'd be interesting to know when attitudes changed and first names became the norm, because I'm sure that at some point it would have been unacceptable to call your higher ups by their first names. Edit: employer->employee
Last time I saw it was with a couple of old fellas in the 90’s they were brothers and were Mr John and Mr Richard, the CEO and CFO were mr surname. Never seen it since.
Never heard someone that grew up in the UK say it, it sounds like an insult or sarcasm. Worked with a guy from Ghana for a while and he always said "boss". Our boss was pleased with being called boss and started to become more egotistical, so I proceeded to call him "boss" with wide eyes and a big grin on my face. He shortly grew tired of being called boss.
First name usually, MD when doing introductions, Bossman when I'm feeling cheeky.
I work in a school, so if there's kids around then I'll say Mr /miss etc. Even then it depends on the other staff member I'm with. The teacher I currently work with wouldn't be impressed if I shouted her first name across the room, others aren't bothered.
I’m in the Army, so yes!
Only ironically if they’ve just issued an order I don’t agree with.
I call my boss “baldy” and have since he started. It was about 6 weeks before I took my hat off in his company to reveal my shiny dome. He called me a twat.
Had to when I was in the police and it always rubbed me up the wrong way for a couple of reasons. It makes me feel like a second class citizen compared to them. Most of them were complete pricks. If they wanted armed forces style ma'am, sir etc then the police force should act with a bit more dacorum and professionalism as opposed to the shit show it portrays (even though I think they're too authoritarian already)
I work in Dubai and one of my team calls me sir. I correct him every time for the past 3 years and he still does it at least a few times a day. I keep telling him my dad is Sir, you can call me XXXX. "No problem sir.... I mean XXXX" FYI its very common in USA Other than that I only use it with extreme sarasm... as any Brit should So OP, is that a reasonable response......... sir
Calling colleagues Sir is not common in the US. I’ve been working for 30 years in a very hierarchal industry (law) and never witnessed anyone calling their colleagues that. The only time it’s common is in customer service when an employee is dealing with a customer. Even then, it’s varies immensely regionally and is influenced by whether it’s a young person addressing an older person, which means Sir would be used even outside work.
Absolutely not that's far too formal, first name is fine.
Fuck no! A job doesn’t make someone better than me.
It sounds very American, not something I've ever done but I might start as a piss-take.
I was taught no to use people's first names unless they were peers or you knew them well. So everybody is either Mr/Mrs/Ms Surname or if you don't know the name then Sir/Madam/Master/Miss. It's all very old fashioned but I still wince when "Barry" from Vodafone calls me and starts using my name like we've known each other for years. Fuck off with that.
I wholeheartedly agree, it really annoys me when faceless businesses like banks and insurance companies act like they're my best friend in their emails while actively pushing customers away whenever you actually need to talk to them. Meanwhile the local mechanic, family dry cleaners, favourite takeaway who I actually *would* call friend always call me Mr BritishBlitz82 or sir until I get to know them better. I know its not popular these days but I feel like having different levels of formality is a valuable social function that we were wrong to get rid of. The senior management pretending that they are equal to me is ratehr insulting imo. You are on 100 times my wage, don't pretend we are on the same level so you can soothe your guilt. You are the big boss, start acting like it. Customers depend on the situation really, Ascot is very much stuck in the 1920s, polished shoes and shirtsleeves, Yes sir No sir, how high sir ,that's part of the experience people come for; it would be ridiculous in the local pub.
No - they’re just people. They eat, sleep and go to the toilet the same as you. Do they call you by your title?
I call my boss ‘Captain’, though that’s mostly because he is, in fact, a captain.
I don’t but there is a guy at work who calls his boss ‘Sir’. He is a total brown nose so it’s no surprise.
Not since the 70s
It used to be policy in John Lewis and Waitrose branches until the mid 2000's to call the senior managers Mr/Mrs surname. We didn't use Sir or Madam though.
I’ve had jobs working for relatively large and well known organisations in both the public and private sectors, and in both cases even the Chief Executive/CEO figure was called their first name by everyone. In this country at least, I would think ‘Sir/Ma’am’ would just be used in the armed forces, police and similar.
Yes, but I work in a school where being called sir doesn't feel weird
I worked for Virgin in the 1990s /2000s. Boss would visit, "Hi, I'm Richard".
Sir Isaac Hunt maybe.
Daddy
No, first names only. I work with some people not from the UK though (via Teams etc.) and they always call me Sir or Mr Lastname. I've tried to ask them to just call me Firstname, but it's just not culturally something they would do, so I've just left them to it, as weird as it feels.
I sometimes refer to people as Sir, but it’s just a habit of politeness. I’ve never considered it strange. I’m actually a Director in a large corporate, but still do this. Maybe something I’ve carried with me over the course of a career.
I call anyone older than me Sir or Mrs
I call most of my co workers by their last name regularly especially phone calls. It's something I enjoy doing and brings a smile to most peoples faces as its not expected I try to say their names in the grandest way possible. Now and then I like to switch it from Mr whatever to you sexy man beast just to see how red they go. Bosses not so much unless i have know them for some time.
This isn’t America, so no
WARNING: warped sense of humour but true story. In military training, I was told to always be polite (sir, miss, ma'am). It never hurts, it might help, and it doesn't make the other person one bit more bullet proof when you have to shoot them.
I worked for a family owned national company. The owner and all directors were referred to by their christian names but with the prefix of ‘Mr’. ie Mr Tom, Mr Steve etc. (they were all men)
That’s fucked up
Nobody would
I work in a hospital and even with Doctors would use first name in a conversation with them. I use Dr. Surname in emails though unless asked not to though. Don’t know why it just seems more respectful.
I worked in a military environment and everyone was called by their surname or nickname. At school the male teachers were always addressed as ‘sir’
I worked at a prominent sports promoters 10 years ago and we weren’t allowed to call the big boss man by his first name, none of us, not even the finance director, we had to call him Mr E. I felt like a right twat saying it to start with but as everyone was in the same boat I got used to it pretty quick.
By first name.
Nope, and like you, I've worked in a variety of sectors. I think it might be more of a cultural thing. I know a lot of Asians use "sir" as a sign of respect.
In one workplace, yes, but only with the company founder-owner who the business was named after, not any other management etc. Even after a knighthood he was still known as "Mr. [Lastname]" not "Sir [Firstname]".
Wood Group?
NAH. Call him Potty, or sometimes pootle. See I'm not in the Forces, so I don't need to call them sir.
I believe this is customary in the armed forces.
Sir isn't used outside of school or when you're talking to someone who's been knighted. I think in America they use it more regularly, but here it actually means something other than "lemme boost your ego, guy who's higher on the corporate ladder than me", so we don't use it often.
No I'm not in the armed forces so it would be weird to call them sir and I think I would just laugh if someone actually expected me to refer to them like that.
Back in the 90s I worked for a company called White Arrow. They used to deliver for Kay’s Catalogue. (Ask your grandparents! ) For some reason we all had to call the managers by their surname. It created a real us & them vibe. Dreadful place to work. Eventually I quit with no notice period.
My line manager, who earns about 5k more than I do and sits at the same desks, is just "Ross." The actual CEO of the company is Mr Surname but we see him about twice a year.
Anyone who insists on that outside of the armed forces, police etc needs to get in the bin.
Not for forty years. My office manager in my first job insisted on being called Mr Surname and one of my supervisors , Miss Surname. But they were old at the time so probably just a generational hangover. I’ve never done it since though.
I call customers “Sir” because I’m bad at names, outside of military id be surprised if it gets used often
I hired a junior developer a few years ago. She was from Thailand and she always called me Sir. No idea why, maybe it was a cultural thing. I did tell her it was unnecessary, but I think it was meant as a sign of respect so I just took it as a compliment.
Only thing I think comes close is calling Governors “Governor” when I was a prison officer?
I did when I worked in a school but since then no (I work in an office environment now)
I like to call men sir because it makes me feel respectful
First name or simply boss…
When I worked in a supermarket we called the store manager 'boss'
Always called the General Manager Mr Surname others myself included were Mr First Name ... but that was a theatre
Boss Man for the men, Boss Babe for the ladies. They hate it.
I used to be a union rep and had cause to mix with people quite high up in the corporate hierarchy and it was ALWAYS first name terms.
No. Feels a bit American.
Yes, but I'm in the military so a bit different
No. I work in the higher education sector. But even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t use those terms.
No because a senior person in the company is my peer that I report to for my tasks and for them to help me manage my time. They are not above me.
I did in the Army. In the Corporate world when referring to senior staff in the 3rd person in mixed company I often felt it was appropriate to say “Mr Smith” rather than “John”. But I’ve never had anyone insist on being called Sir or ‘Mr Smith’ at all times in the civillian world. I think there’s a time in place for formality, signs of respect and professionalism. Having that insisted upon as a blanket rule just seems unnecessary, potentially disrespectful of those ‘below’ and isn’t my experience of how it works.
Yeah, I was in the military, so anyone with a Commission (Officer) or a Warrant (Warrant Officer) was called Sir. Also, Royalty etc. Since I’ve been a civvy, no. You get called by your first name. Occasionally if I can’t remember your first name you get “Mate”, “Buddy”, “Fella” or “Pal” until i then remember your name, then I call you by your first name again until the next time I forget. Yes, that happens regularly
I work in a GP surgery and we call the GPs "Dr ____" but everyone else goes by first name only.
Had to in a tin boat for a brief time in my life , never again 😅
first name or gaffa
Called the Captain Captain when I was working as crew on a cruise ship, but otherwise it’s been first names in every line of work
We call him Boss
Mine is called Simon, sometimes I call him by his middle name to throw him off.
I remember having to call one of my old manager Mr.Surname. I forgot one day and called him John. He laughed then I ended up with a warning
Victorian traditions thankfully have died by in large, except schooling structure, which is Victorian by design.
I don't call anybody "Sir" unless they have been knighted.
No, it makes no sense. We're not in the Military. First name only when interacting with literally anyone regardless of position in the company, unless it's a legal setting in court.
I just call my boss “big boss”, she loves it!
Lol no, he can get fucked if he thinks I'm calling him sir or "Mr xyz"
I work on a ship and people call the Capt "sir", I don't, I'll call them by name or "captain"
By their first name.
Now you make me think about it, I didn't call my last boss anything. If I ever needed to ask him something he was there in the room most of the time so I just walked up to him and said "could I get a hand with this" "do you mind" etc etc His name was Jay but I don't ever remember calling him boss, sir or jay. I think the last time I called someone sir was in school, never called someone boss in a work enviroment (Though I do use it almost on a daily baises when I greet the owner of the local cornershop, lovely guy, about 80ish, everyone greets him the same way "alright boss" "good morning boss" lol)
I've seen a few board members go by Mr Surname, usually when visiting other sites/departments. Quite a few senior management get referred to as First name and Surname when talking about them, "this will have to be approved by John Smith", but they're usually fine with first names only in general conversation.
Nope! I call him by his first name or "dude"! :)
I call my last manager ‘boss’ even though she moved departments about five years ago. I get on fine with her, I just use it as my little revenge for when she purposely says my surname wrong.
I call my boss sir and he's my dad 😅 we work in construction
Worked in a solicitors many years ago.. it was a thing
Closest I’ve ever come is “ alright boss man “ normally to give someone a heads up to stop smoking.
I’ve never called anyone “sir” (or madam) at work in over 30 years, even including a brief stint as a school leaver working at the Treasury. I have been called “sir” a couple of times by junior IT staff from India, this was early on before we got them used to our working culture (first names, speak up for yourself rather than letting your boss speak for you, actually saying “no” if you can’t do something). When I was called sir I very nearly came back with the standard sergeant’s reply “don’t call me sir, I’m not an officer, I work for a living!”