Have the young people in our society forgotten their manners? The first thing we are taught is how to address someone in authority.
Recently, I heard of a young man who was fired for addressing his boss as “big man”. How would you as an Office Administrator deal with this situation if it were you? Who is to blame for the obvious lack of respect in our young people?
I think that using text, bbm, or everyday chatting has caused the younger generation to use short codes for everything including names and titles.
For me, I would try to nip the problem in the bud early. When an employee speaks to you as if they are speaking to one of their buddies you should inform them whether or not this is appropriate and inform them how you would prefer to be addressed.
If the employee chooses not to rectify the problem then I suggest the method of progressive discipline be used. I would further address progressive discipline in my next blog. Although workplaces are becoming more and more formal there is a still a place for tact and plain old RESPECT.
