Chavs in the office

shortcrust

Is it too late to suggest ignoring the troll?

robatwork

Your OP read a bit like an excerpt from a John Updike novel.

peachyprice

Could you get any further up your own @rse, OP?

andygb

At the end of the day, you go to work - to work.
The people who you meet at work are simply colleagues, maybe mates, maybe people who you wouldn't talk to out of work.
If you are really that bothered about them, then get another job, and if you manage that, then you can worry about the next crowd of people who you will be working with.

w00519772

hutman wrote: »

Recently joined a company, and i cannot believe the amount of chavs it employs.

Before I cause uproar I don’t mean to use the word in a derogatory/offensive way just that their nature has sparked my curiosity. Given that we sometimes pass them on the street and don’t think twice, it is bemusing to be inhabited in a small place with these people.

Before I go on, I'm generally referring to chavs as white, lowly educated with an east end dialect. I'm sure there are many more variations - they even seem to be camouflaged in gentry attire until they open their mouths.

What they talk about

It’s a subject I'm genuinely bemused about. After talk of football becomes worn out and unfashionable - these people tend to open up to subjects which seem so arbitrary - shoes/Nandos/cars/tv marathons/Ibiza - just reveals how distracted their minds are so they sit on a computer desk. These folk are nice people often not thinking beyond their primary means and I’ve attempted to bring up something on current affairs to challenge their minds. But the response is a mix of blank followed by some reference to thoughtless banter/joke similar to how a fart achieves birth.

How they seem

Would say the hardcore chavs around me are permanently fluxed in a state of distraction. Any musings about life/existence do not last beyond a 5 second interval. Most of their spare time is consumed on Netflix marathons & hanging around each other probably talking about Netflix marathons. I mean at no point does the adult creature seem to provoke any intellectual curiosity (ok sometimes they look out of the office window and complain about the rain - just them looking at the sky for than 4 secs sometimes gives me an ounce of excitement that hope is not lost).

Away from the amusing parts of my observations - I wish I could ignore them! The central gripe is one about how these chavs got jobs. I mean their input can’t be much better than a half educated 11 year old but yet they find themselves into the city. As we move into the digital/techfin times - their lack of value seems more stark and underlines a vast productivity gap this country likes to endorse. It’s not only a case of skills/value – they don’t even carry a mind-set to improve or challenge themselves. Challenges or problems are normally greeted with a storm of trashy expletives before being suppressed and delegated to someone else.

When I look at my reflection in the office toilet mirror I ask – Was I once a chav?

In my experience people talk about what they have in common. Maybe you could make more of an effort? Remember they are your work colleagues; not necessarily your friends.

Andrew_Ryan_89

It's good to have have friends and colleagues to have an intellectual conversation with at work but I would go crazy if that was 99% of all the conversations we had. If you don't like their banter, simply ignore them and find someone else to speak to.

[Deleted User]

I think what you're really seeing is just popular youth culture, not 'chav-dom'.

I've always worked in 'educated' workplaces (e.g. minimum requirements is a degree, but quite a few people have masters or higher). Guess what? We talk about what TV series we're watching, stuff we've bought, where we're going on holiday, funny stuff that's happened at the weekend. Normal, human, relatable things.

People avoid topics like religion and politics, and generally anything too controversial. It's avoids causing trouble in the workplace.

So get down with the Netflix. I'd suggest binge watching Stranger Things!

YouAsked

hutman wrote: »

Away from the amusing parts of my observations...

Are they in a different post?

seashore22

Always thought I was middle class, so thank you op for the revelation that I'm a chav. I honestly had no idea.

From a Nandos eating, Amazon buying, Netflix binging chav.

seashore22

shortcrust wrote: »

Is it too late to suggest ignoring the troll?

Probably.

Apparently "probably" isn't long enough to be a proper post. Who knew.