www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51261999
I'm not much of a sports fan but I never felt excluded when my mates were talking about it.
This, to me, is PC gone absolutely bonkers. What are we allowed to talk about???
Plus, I suppose, there is a counter-argument on behalf ot the growing number of women footballers and supporters.
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>> This, to me, is PC gone absolutely bonkers. What are we allowed to talk about???
Whilst I find the term PC utterly infuriating - because its use is generally pejorative - I can see Smokie's point here. A ban is utterly disproportionate.
It's something managers should be alert to where people are excluded but it's not just sport.
I work with three immediate colleagues, two female and one male. If the other bloke and I talked of nothing but cars and footie the women, neither of whom is interested in either, might well feel isolated. Of four only two of us, me and the older of the women, are parents. If we talked of nothing but our children there might be an issue.
There's also an age gap, three of us over 50 the other 19; another minefield when it comes to conversation!!
Same with 'banter' of any sort. A pee take about MUFC players speeding as it's only way they'll get three points is one thing but it can go too far if somebody thinks they're the butt of the joke too often.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Mon 27 Jan 20 at 12:13
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To be honest, it does irritate me when people who should be working spend too much time talking about their private interests whatever they may be. What they chat about during a break is up to them and is none of my business.
In truth, I have always resisted socialising much with work colleagues, I much prefer to keep my private life entirely separate.
This has of course led to some thinking I'm a miserable old GTi but I'm pretty much at peace with that ! ;-)
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>> I much prefer to keep my private life entirely separate.
100% agree. Neither has any place in the other.
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What utter stupidity.
Although retired - in my final working years that there was almost nothing that one could discuss in the office. On the banned list:
- politics
- sex
- sexual orientation
- age
- religion
- pay
- some more I've forgotten??
Talking nothing but sport around the coffee machine was tedious, but better than nothing. Now it seems we can't talk to colleagues at all!
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>> If the other bloke and I talked of nothing but cars
If you talked of *anything* so much that a colleague could feel excluded, I'd assume that I could manage without you because you're clearly doing no work.
I'd just need to work out if I should replace you or manage without.
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>> If you talked of *anything* so much that a colleague could feel excluded, I'd assume
>> that I could manage without you because you're clearly doing no work.
I assume you understand the point I'm making re subject and link in OP.
Too much chat is another kettle of fish.
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I do understand and I repeat;
You shouldn't be talking about your personal life anything like enough to make someone legitimately feel excluded. That's *way* too much non-work conversation.
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>> You shouldn't be talking about your personal life anything like enough to make someone legitimately
>> feel excluded. That's *way* too much non-work conversation.
Agree. I only introduced family, cars etc to point out that issue in OP is not limited to sport.
OTOH it might be exclusionary if footie were only subject in legitimate breaks/pauses.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Mon 27 Jan 20 at 14:20
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>>
>>
>> If you talked of *anything* so much that a colleague could feel excluded, I'd assume
>> that I could manage without you because you're clearly doing no work.
>>
>> I'd just need to work out if I should replace you or manage without.
>>
I worked for a London Borough in the eighties. If it wasn't for standing round chatting and drinking tea there would have been nothing to go to work for at all.
Those were the days.
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We chat about nothing but sex, sex, sex and sex in the office.
Although I admit I work on my own.
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>> We chat about nothing but sex, sex, sex and sex in the office.
>>
>> Although I admit I work on my own.
>>
Had a chest freezer in the shop and every time the girlfriend bent over it to get something out, well, you can guess.
Then one day she did it when wearing a very short skirt and well, despite trying, I couldn't help myself!
Never been allowed back in Bejams since!
Last edited by: zippy on Mon 27 Jan 20 at 16:07
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"I admit I work on my own."
Manual labour?
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Saw a great headline on the front of one of the newspapers this morning.
"Don't talk about your tackle at work"
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So what - if someone "feels excluded" by chat? What makes it matter to the world?
If I worked in an environment where the sole subject of say, soccer, was uppermost, I would feel excluded and be happy so to be!
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Try living in Wales when the Six Nations is on. I have zero interest in the game and the next few weeks I'll hear of nothing else.
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In the future we can all work from home so that the issue of what to discuss with colleagues around the coffee machine will no longer matter.
Just buy a pet if you haven't yet got one. You can talk sport, politics, sex, religion - in fact whatever you want - with your pet and get no more that a woof, miaow or squeak in reply!
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It's a mad, mad world - Bromptonaut
