Being called by your first name at work

[Dr. Lucky]

I'm in an in-house legal office in California and everyone is basically on a first name basis, within the legal office and throughout the rest of the organization. It isn't out of place for the most junior new employee to address attorneys, directors, or anyone else by just their first name. That may not be normal everywhere but I think that's definitely the culture in California. I'm certainly comfortable with it.

Honestly, the only people that I don't like calling me by my first name are little kids. I try so hard to teach my daughter to address adults as Mr/Ms/Mrs but I swear every other kid expects to call adults by their first name (and it really galls me when their parents encourage my daughter to do the same).

 

[gear-guy]

Welcome to the lounge Lucky

 

[Miss Sis]

I'm a Nursery Nurse ( or 'Early Years Educator' as they sometimes like to call us these days) and work for an agency. The children almost always call staff by our first names, but in my previous position, had to call us 'Miss' or 'Mrs'. However, some of us chose to be Miss - First Name (even those who were married) rather than always use our surname. It was our choice.

I chose to be Miss Simone (first name) as when I first went as agency staff, one of the older children asked me my name, and I unaware that they had to use titles, had told them my first name. I didn't want to confuse them so I stuck with it. Grew to really like it.

In fact the funny thing is that the adults usually ended up calling each other Miss or Mrs So and So out of work too! So my friends would walk into the bar or restaurant and say 'Hello Miss Simone!'.

 

[Dr. Lucky]

Welcome to the lounge Lucky

Thanks for the warm welcome! I've been lurking here for too long without contributing. I finally registered to contact someone in Classifieds - I figure I may as well start posting too.

 

[Stearmen]

As some one who was blessed with a last name that runs out of boxes on most government forms, I go by my first name. It is a little shocking, when some one uses my last name, and even more shocking, when they pronounce it correctly!

 

[Some Random Bloke]

In Australia it's pretty rare to use last names. School kids do with their teachers, and parents might to their kids teachers because they don't know their first name and are just in the habit of talking that way with their kids. In my industry we usually begin conversations with new clients by their last name but usually we wind up on first name basis quickly and that's how we introduce ourselves. I've taught in a small college (I have a masters but there were doctors there) and it was always first names from the principal down.

 

[Mickey85]

I work in a psychiatric residential for kids, they use our first names for our privacy. Theoretically, they don't know our last names so that when they get out, they have a hard time finding us by phone, address, facebook, etc. In truth, they know most of our last names because its on the paperwork. Most of them calm the techs by their first name only. The teachers and therapists are given their job as a surname, so for instance, I'm teacher Matt, there's a therapist Karen, etc. The supervisors and admin are given titles. Chris the supervisor, mike the CEO, etc. I went back to a public school for a brief hiatus to help teach the teachers about working with psych kids in their classrooms, and it was very weird to be called by my last name.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Being raised as I was in the Deep South, I had a friend name Ben Roberts. His mother & father were known to me as "Miss Jean" & "Mister Billy" as most all of my parents' friends were called. Now Miss Jean became my 4th Grade teacher, who at school was always addressed as "Mrs. Roberts". All of my son's teachers were addressed as "Dr, Mr, Mrs or Ms Lastname" at school.

All the neighbor kids and kids of my friends call me "Mr. Matt". I'd never thought of this as a Southern thing, I guess I assumed it was everywhere. But seeing as how I've never lived anywhere *but* the South, perhaps it is.

 

[cchgn]

To answer your question, US Army protocol states that the driver of a vehicle never salutes - probably for safety and other reasons. (The only exception I'm aware of: in the case of the Star Spangled Banner or Taps sounding, you are supposed to stop the vehicle, dismount, and salute toward the direction of the music.)

-Max

Uhhh, that's a Marine Corp base he's talking about. The Army and Marines have different protocols,,,,just sayin'( 8 yr Marine here).

A Marine motioning a person thru the gate could be misconstrued ( by the casual non-obesrver) to be a salute, when in fact, it isn't. AFA Marine protocol, they'll salute civilians and retired Marines as well, out of respect.

 

[Bugguy]

I worked with a very powerful individual who was both a medical doctor and a General in the Army. He hated to be called General. He would state that General was just a civil service category and if we had to use any title to use Dr. because he had to study to earn that one. Usually we just called him Jim.

You bring back a memory... I once was helping the wife of one of our patients and she always referred to her husband as The Colonel. Not my husband (he was passing at the time, so it was pretty emotional), not Jack; but always The Colonel. Obviously he was in the military his whole life and that I guess shaped her as well. As this was important to her, we always discussed his condition in that form. Even in the hospital it was Colonel or Sir. At the time I thought it was odd, but with age and the loss of loved ones, maybe this helped her cope - this was her discipline.

 

[Picard1138]

Uhhh, that's a Marine Corp base he's talking about. The Army and Marines have different protocols,,,,just sayin'( 8 yr Marine here).

A Marine motioning a person thru the gate could be misconstrued ( by the casual non-obesrver) to be a salute, when in fact, it isn't. AFA Marine protocol, they'll salute civilians and retired Marines as well, out of respect.

Regardless of branch, the driver of a vehicle in motion is not required to salute.

-Max

 

[hatguy1]

I don't mind it as much from one level to the next. But I think it sounds cheesy, false and insipid when first level supervisors etc start talking about CEOS by first name (as in I have a meeting with Bill as in Bill Gates like they're truly on a 1st name basis with the CEO) or when addressing them from the floor of an all-hands meeting by first name. Again, it just smacks of ridiculous to me. I don't think there's anything wrong with showing that level some respect of addressing as Me or Mrs or miss.


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[hatguy1]

One thing I don't like is when coworkers or supervisors call me by last name only. I've always found that discourteous.


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[Sapphire]

I am working in the aviation sector in a company with more than 1500 employees. We got more than 30 nationalities and the official language is (some mix of) English with lots of regional influences. We are on first name basis from the apprentice up to the CEO, which helps maintaining a closely-knit spirit of cooperation throughout the company. The company often has the atmosphere of a family-run business even though we are in the Top 10 worldwide in our industry. Perfectly happy with that.

On the other hand I also work as guest lecturer at a university, where the students address me as "Professor Sapphire". This feels quite odd as a) at my UK university we were on first name basis with the profs - which might have been due to the fact that we were mainly part-time postgrads of a certain age and b) I didn't get beyond the MSc level myself - and in my home country, a Professor is higher-ranked than a PhD... My PhD is only planned for the time after retirement - too much work at the moment

 

[Gin&Tonics]

Being in law enforcement, most folks tend to call each other by their last names only, or sometimes we address each other as "officer." If you're friends with the person you might call them by their first name.

 

[Stray Cat]

I work in a governmental office.
In the ideal case, I'd prefer people to be polite and call me by Madam (and most of the population do, when they address me). It is my co-workers that fail to do so - I suppose they feel no need to keep the polite distance and call me by my last name. Ever since I came into the office, everyone calls me (and everyone else) by the first names only.
Not only by my first name. :doh:
The truth is, nowadays they are making up short and sweet nicknames... only I do not find them sweet at all, more over: I find some of the name variations quite offensive. But the ladies at the office think it's "cute".
Callin' me "kid" is NOT by far cute.. it is plain rude. :nono:

 

[newsman]

Being in law enforcement, most folks tend to call each other by their last names only, or sometimes we address each other as "officer." If you're friends with the person you might call them by their first name.

Same here. Further more...I don't go by my real first name. I've not used in professionally or personally for over 25 years.

I have had several nick names over the years and some of stuck.

Toe tag was one. That's a long story

 

[Stearmen]

I work in a governmental office.
In the ideal case, I'd prefer people to be polite and call me by Madam (and most of the population do, when they address me). It is my co-workers that fail to do so - I suppose they feel no need to keep the polite distance and call me by my last name. Ever since I came into the office, everyone calls me (and everyone else) by the first names only.
Not only by my first name. :doh:
The truth is, nowadays they are making up short and sweet nicknames... only I do not find them sweet at all, more over: I find some of the name variations quite offensive. But the ladies at the office think it's "cute".
Callin' me "kid" is NOT by far cute.. it is plain rude. :nono:

I wish some one would call me "kid!"

 

[Stray Cat]

I wish some one would call me "kid!"

Let's trade.

 

[skydog757]

Being in law enforcement, most folks tend to call each other by their last names only, or sometimes we address each other as "officer." If you're friends with the person you might call them by their first name.

That is my experience also, however I work in Correctioins. We always use last names in the presence of inmates; when it's just the rank and file we go with first or last as the mood strikes. Administrative are always addressed by title (Sheriff, Undersheriff, Lieutenant) or Sir/Mame (I hate calling a woman "Mame" so I usually do it by their rank). Judges are always "Judge X_____" or "Your Honor" whatever the circumstance. Inmates are always last name (Mr. or Ms.) no matter how well you know them.