Office Decorum

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-08-28 01:45pm

I rcently hired a temporary paralegal for a case that I'm working on. He's a great guy, works his ass off, is attentive and helpful. But he tends to speak in ghetto fashion. "My bad." As in "My bad Frank, my bad, I didn;t read your email." Things like that.

It sort of annoys me because I spent my whole life getting away from speech like that. I grew up and still live in a neighborhood that is very ghetto fabulous, with a latin flavor. I don't like that ghetto slang, or the way they dress, treat themselves and their women (and by they I mean the kids hanging out on the corner selling drugs or getting into trouble.) I grew up woth them, many of my childhood freinds became them, so I have a distinct distaste for that lifetsyle.

I love the guy, seriously and would never consider telling him but everytime he talks like that I swear my eye twitches.

Anyone else have a similar office experience where you have a coworker with an annoying habit be it dress, speech, etc that just clashes with what you expect from an office atmosphere?

zombie84 · Post by **zombie84** » 2003-08-28 02:15pm

its just slang. Words like "cool" and "man" used to be reserved for hippies, drug dealers and black people. Nowadays we dont think anything of them.

But i agree i hate that fucking "ghetto" slang-- "word bro that was tight". speak english you fucking cunt!

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-08-28 02:18pm

Aside from the glorious way my co-workers and boss talk about abusing their husbands...not much really.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-08-28 02:20pm

"My bad" is ghetto speak? I've never lived in an inner city in my entire life, and I use those words pretty often.

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2003-08-28 02:36pm

Yeah, I wouldn't think "my bad" is ghetto slang, just a stupid expression.

zombie84 · Post by **zombie84** » 2003-08-28 03:13pm

it started off as ghetto slang, but like much of it, has become so common that middle-aged accountants and such have been seen to use it in vein attempts to stay hip.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-08-28 03:35pm

*shrug* I use the phrase "my bad" all the time, in nmo attempt to stay hip or cool or whatever.

I've got no problem with my coworkers. Many of them are academics and technicians really, so the atmosphere is fairly relaxed.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-08-28 03:49pm

In an office environment it's pretty unprofessional though.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-08-28 04:09pm

"My bad" is considered ghetto? Better stop saying it then, LOL

But yes, I know exactly what you mean when you love a person to death but if they start acting unprofessional in a professional setting.. you wanna take a bat to their head for reprogramming.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-08-28 04:35pm

We get one or 2 of those guys at my work every year, we just call them "Funboy" and harass them constantly and mercilessly until we break them of their habits. We make them think they're gay, then we make them think we're gay and we love him, and we spank them, poke them, lock them in storage rooms with the lights out and do whatever we can think of to keep them off balance. Sometimes we just stare at them and smirk all day, or we point and laugh, and after a month or 2 of this they shape up quite nicely. Of course we are bicycle shop mechanics so I don't think this would be applicable in a real office setting. If the employment board ever came by our store we'd all be in fucking jail for the stuff we pull.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-08-28 05:19pm

It is not professional, especially in the type of environment Stravo works in. Im trying hard to purge my language of any "ghetto lingo". It is tough when some of your co-workers come from the same schools. But with customers and what not, there is no room for slang like that. Chances are he just needs some time to work on it.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-08-28 05:25pm

aerius wrote:We get one or 2 of those guys at my work every year, <snip the EVIL!>

Holy shit! Go invent the airplane or something, that's just down right bare-boned no doubt about it evil! I smell a lawsuit, I do. Call Sam, quickly!

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-08-28 06:16pm

I use my bad all the time, and I grew up in a pretty neutral household. But I had this chem teacher who always used to say "Nyucyulur", it pissed me the hell off. But I couldn't do anything about it.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-08-28 06:30pm

Darth Garden Gnome wrote:

Holy shit! Go invent the airplane or something, that's just down right bare-boned no doubt about it evil! I smell a lawsuit, I do. Call Sam, quickly!

It's for their own good, we're breaking them of their bad habits so they can be nice productive and socially presentable members of our store workforce. It works every time with a minimum of trauma to the "Funboys", it's not like we're sexually molesting them in the back room or anything. We just get our GF's to come in and kick them in the nuts every now and then.

One day the "funboys" will thank us for ridding them of their ghetto ways.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2003-08-28 06:33pm

Ghetto speak in an office environment around other professional is bad mmmkay. You can do that stuff in the privacy of your home or on the street but I am a stickler for people being remotely professional in an office.

I don't mean stick up the ass professional but when you casually tell me that you were "Chillin' down here trying to scope for some new files." I HAVE to count to ten or I will say something.

Mark S · Post by **Mark S** » 2003-08-28 07:55pm

I agree. There are different times to use different dialects or lingo or jargon or whatever and people need to have the brains to know when to say what. Street talk in the office is as unprofessional as technical jargon, to people not in the know, is pompus. How does someone even think that they should talk to their boss like that? Are they that socially inept?

I say go the route of Aerius only at about 1/10 strength. If you're comfortable around each other, make fun of him in a friendly manner until he gets it. Or maybe he just needs someone to take him aside and tell him that he won't be taken seriously in his career unless he learns to speak more professionally. As his superior it's part of your job to mentor him along his path, right.

CorSec · Post by **CorSec** » 2003-08-28 07:59pm

I understand what you mean, Stravo. While, technically, I work in a professional environment my coworkers and I use whatever language we see fit. Sometimes we even include our immediate supervisor (better stated as 'allow him to participate'). However, when asked a serious, business related question I'll stick to 'just the facts, sir' mode of conversation. The real test of his professionalism is how he talks to others in the office or other professionals who aren't you. If he is such a dedicated employee otherwise I think you could do your paralegal a world of good by helping him understand when not to use that vernacular. Granted, someone else should have taught him that long before he was employed. That's my opinion, of course and worth only about as much as the letters on the page.

Alex Moon · Post by **Alex Moon** » 2003-08-28 08:01pm

My biggest peeve is when people use "like" every other like word. Like, you know what I like, mean?

Everytime I hear someone talk like that, I want to reach over and strangle them.

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-08-28 08:17pm

The way my boss decides he's going to get mad at me for interrupting his work for anything and then decides he's going to interrupt MY work to talk about personal shit for ALL my "fun time" of the day, and then get pissed off because I can't make a deadline.

~ver

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-08-28 08:35pm

Alex Moon wrote:My biggest peeve is when people use "like" every other like word. Like, you know what I like, mean?

Everytime I hear someone talk like that, I want to reach over and strangle them.

I probably do that too much. Im not sure. I swear a lot with my friends, but seem to be able to turn if off at work. I do talk with my hands a lot. People make fun of me for it.

zombie84 · Post by **zombie84** » 2003-08-28 08:43pm

i hate it when corporate office worker types force themselves to be so "proper" and "professional" all the time. Say what you want and be yourself for christ sakes. I hate all of that pretentious shit.
But i guess i would also hate it if they all walked around using ghetto slang--but thats just fucking stupid no matter where you use it. It started because inner city kids didnt have any education and never learned to speak correctly. We have an education so fucking use it! I never use "my bad", it sounds stupid and unless your a black inner city kid then you dont have any business using it. Lots of people do nowadays, i dont know why.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-08-28 09:12pm

Sure it may be pretentious. Except you still need to do it. It's still the way you conduct yourself in an office, even if you don't like it. People will expect you to act in a certain way, and you'll have to if you want to get anywhere.

Daltonator · Post by **Daltonator** » 2003-08-28 09:48pm

I have zero problem with so-called "ghetto speak". It's the style of dress and their tricked-out shitbox cars that annoys me.