Is it acceptable to address someone as "slacker" in the workplace?

Ath_Wat

jj_43 said:

no, you should describe the unacceptable work or behaviour thats the issue.

So the situation I described above is unacceptable?  Or have you applied conditions to the question which are not present?  Why are you assuming there is any unacceptable behaviour, the question doesn't specify it.

Ath_Wat

Dakta said:

I voted no but I made the decision based on my own circumstances which is a professional setting where you don't say such things to people. You also are expected to be mindful that the context sent is not always context received and you factor both in before opening the mouth.

I have worked on building sites and other areas where insults were traded as humour, and you do let it roll off your back but there's normally rarely much risk of it being taken in the wrong context.

I lie actually, I don't know if he used the word slacker or something similar but once had a manager in my professional setting who did publicly call people such things particularly in team meetings, it had a profound effect, eroded team morale - literally cut team contribution in wider meetings to zero and eventually someone upstairs cottoned on and one day someone sat in a meeting on unrelated grounds and a couple of days later he disappeared. 

So, for one, you have applied conditions to the question which are not present.

Secondly, even in your circumstances is the scenario I outlined above acceptable or not?

Ath_Wat

Superfuse said:

Ath_Wat said:

If I can explain further, a word is only unacceptable if it is implicitly offensive to certain people. There is not community of avowed slackers who might be offended by overhearing it being addressed in a humorous fashion to somebody.  Therefore the word is acceptable, and context is everything.  Anyone saying it is never acceptable has in their own mind applied certain conditions to the question, it being so vague, and answered it based on those conditions.  I don't know if this was your intention in making it so vague.

Thank you for your comments. It's interesting to hear other people's POV.

The 'No' option has had more votes than the other options combined. So the wording is possibly not that critical.

Of course the wording is critical.  I challenge anyone who has voted "no" to make a case as to why the situation I outlined would not be acceptable.  They are voting no because they are applying conditions that are not present in the question because it is too vague, making the result worthless for whatever purpose you want to use it.  If you want an answer as to whether whatever is happening to you is acceptable or not, you have to be more specific as to what it is.

Superfuse

Ath_Wat said:

Superfuse said:

Ath_Wat said:

If I can explain further, a word is only unacceptable if it is implicitly offensive to certain people. There is not community of avowed slackers who might be offended by overhearing it being addressed in a humorous fashion to somebody.  Therefore the word is acceptable, and context is everything.  Anyone saying it is never acceptable has in their own mind applied certain conditions to the question, it being so vague, and answered it based on those conditions.  I don't know if this was your intention in making it so vague.

Thank you for your comments. It's interesting to hear other people's POV.

The 'No' option has had more votes than the other options combined. So the wording is possibly not that critical.

Of course the wording is critical.  I challenge anyone who has voted "no" to make a case as to why the situation I outlined would not be acceptable.  They are voting no because they are applying conditions that are not present in the question because it is too vague, making the result worthless for whatever purpose you want to use it.  If you want an answer as to whether whatever is happening to you is acceptable or not, you have to be more specific as to what it is.

If you could remind me of the situation outlined above, I'll be happy to provide a response (as I voted 'No').

Brie

No

I would say it's unacceptable 99.9% of the time.  

If it was said to me and me alone it might hurt my feelings.
If it was said to me and me alone and someone overheard it then they may think less of me.
If it was said to me and me along and someone overheard it then they may think less of my manager.
If it was said to me and to other colleagues all the things above still apply.
If it was said with a laugh and a smile and while buying us all drinks and handing out pay rises I doubt anyone would be offended but still think it odd.  

Ath_Wat

Brie said:

I would say it's unacceptable 99.9% of the time.  

If it was said to me and me alone it might hurt my feelings.
If it was said to me and me alone and someone overheard it then they may think less of me.
If it was said to me and me along and someone overheard it then they may think less of my manager.
If it was said to me and to other colleagues all the things above still apply.
If it was said with a laugh and a smile and while buying us all drinks and handing out pay rises I doubt anyone would be offended but still think it odd.  

So you think it depends on the circumstances.  Plus you seem to have assumed it is a manager saying it, which is not in the question.

"Still here at 8:30pm, you slacker?  You should get yourself home.", said by someone on the same level as you.

Acceptable or unacceptable?

Ath_Wat

Superfuse said:

Ath_Wat said:

Superfuse said:

Ath_Wat said:

If I can explain further, a word is only unacceptable if it is implicitly offensive to certain people. There is not community of avowed slackers who might be offended by overhearing it being addressed in a humorous fashion to somebody.  Therefore the word is acceptable, and context is everything.  Anyone saying it is never acceptable has in their own mind applied certain conditions to the question, it being so vague, and answered it based on those conditions.  I don't know if this was your intention in making it so vague.

Thank you for your comments. It's interesting to hear other people's POV.

The 'No' option has had more votes than the other options combined. So the wording is possibly not that critical.

Of course the wording is critical.  I challenge anyone who has voted "no" to make a case as to why the situation I outlined would not be acceptable.  They are voting no because they are applying conditions that are not present in the question because it is too vague, making the result worthless for whatever purpose you want to use it.  If you want an answer as to whether whatever is happening to you is acceptable or not, you have to be more specific as to what it is.

If you could remind me of the situation outlined above, I'll be happy to provide a response (as I voted 'No').

It's there if you want to bother looking up.

Brie

No

Ath_Wat said:

So you think it depends on the circumstances.  Plus you seem to have assumed it is a manager saying it, which is not in the question.

"Still here at 8:30pm, you slacker?  You should get yourself home.", said by someone on the same level as you.

Acceptable or unacceptable?

I'd say unacceptable.  Frankly I can't think of a time it really and truly is acceptable.  Substitute "part timer" for slacker in your example would be fine.  Slacker is generally considered derogatory.

I've witnessed a situation where a colleague (look up slacker in the dictionary and you'd have his picture) was belittled by a group at work.  He deserved it all but it wasn't nice.  I didn't stick up for him (as his work record was dreadful and we all knew it) but I should have, could have made some comment like "come on, let's be nice". 

Superfuse

Ath_Wat said:

Brie said:

I would say it's unacceptable 99.9% of the time.  

If it was said to me and me alone it might hurt my feelings.
If it was said to me and me alone and someone overheard it then they may think less of me.
If it was said to me and me along and someone overheard it then they may think less of my manager.
If it was said to me and to other colleagues all the things above still apply.
If it was said with a laugh and a smile and while buying us all drinks and handing out pay rises I doubt anyone would be offended but still think it odd.  

So you think it depends on the circumstances.  Plus you seem to have assumed it is a manager saying it, which is not in the question.

"Still here at 8:30pm, you slacker?  You should get yourself home.", said by someone on the same level as you.

Acceptable or unacceptable?

I'm a little confused by the above example. For me, doing overtime would generally suggest someone's determination to hit a deadline, that they were engrossed in their task or they were building up hours to have a day off. I don't think calling them a slacker makes much sense.

I would say it was unacceptable though. I wouldn't appreciate the suggestion that I was a slacker. The word 'slacker' meaning lazy etc.

Ath_Wat

Superfuse said:

Ath_Wat said:

Brie said:

I would say it's unacceptable 99.9% of the time.  

If it was said to me and me alone it might hurt my feelings.
If it was said to me and me alone and someone overheard it then they may think less of me.
If it was said to me and me along and someone overheard it then they may think less of my manager.
If it was said to me and to other colleagues all the things above still apply.
If it was said with a laugh and a smile and while buying us all drinks and handing out pay rises I doubt anyone would be offended but still think it odd.  

So you think it depends on the circumstances.  Plus you seem to have assumed it is a manager saying it, which is not in the question.

"Still here at 8:30pm, you slacker?  You should get yourself home.", said by someone on the same level as you.

Acceptable or unacceptable?

I'm a little confused by the above example. For me, doing overtime would generally suggest someone's determination to hit a deadline, that they were engrossed in their task or they were building up hours to have a day off. I don't think calling them a slacker makes much sense.

I would say it was unacceptable though. I wouldn't appreciate the suggestion that I was a slacker. The word 'slacker' meaning lazy etc.

It would be doing it ironically, because they are patently NOT a slacker.  That is the whole point.