What do you think about nicknames at work?

There are diminutives (Laurent who becomes “Lolo”) and nicknames (“The cyclist” because you have the misfortune of traveling by bike, “Harry” for the brown guy with glasses from the service…). Two categories that can be put in one and the same bag, that of nicknames. Whether we wear it with joy or endure it in pain, having a nickname at work has a concrete impact on our daily state of mind. According to a series of studies carried out by the American journal Harvard Business Reviewnicknames would be indicators of our well-being in business. More than 1,000 employees were surveyed to come to the following conclusions: when employees call their superiors by a nickname, they feel more confident and respected. But when it is managers who give nicknames to their subordinates, the effect would be completely opposite: the subordinates perceive this familiarity as a lack of respect and can lose confidence.

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Many deviations

Used to demean or hurt, unpleasant nicknames often hide situations of harassment or violence. In 2013, a study commissioned by the High Council for Professional Equality between women and men revealed that nearly one in two women have already been questioned by a man using a sexist nickname at work (out of 150,000 women and men interviewed).

And you, do you use nicknames at work? What do you think about giving it your all in business? Do you give your superiors a nickname? Do your colleagues or your manager assign one to you? What are the worst nicknames you’ve heard?