The use of nicknames is perceived more or less positively, depending on the company's organizational structure. — Photo: kzenon / Getty Images, via ETX Daily UP
In the corporate world, familiarity is not a given, even if it can be built up over time. After all, we spend more time with our colleagues than with those closest to us. But this can lead to some unprofessional behavior. Giving nicknames to the people you work with is one such example.
In theory, professional relationships imply a certain distance. However, it's not uncommon for workers to take a few liberties with their closest colleagues, notably by giving them nicknames. For example, Catherine might become "Cat” or Alexander "Alex,” making the workplace feel more friendly. But sometimes, employees think up more elaborate nicknames for their colleagues, like "number cruncher” for Matthew in accounts or "ice queen" for Karen, the fierce manager feared by her subordinates.
At first glance, nicknames might seem to help make the atmosphere more relaxed in the workplace. But this is not necessarily the case, as the use of these monikers at work can be a marker of power differences and distance between groups. Researchers Zhe Zhang and Shuili Du demonstrated this after conducting several experiments involving over 1,000 American employees.
These workers were asked to put themselves in the shoes of an employee who had just joined a new company. They were divided into four groups. Members of the first group were told to call their new boss "Panda,” in reference to their black-and-white attire. Those in the second group were told that their manager had taken to calling one of their subordinates "Panda” for the same reason. Participants in the third group were told that their new colleagues called their boss by their name, and those in the fourth that the same boss called their colleagues by their respective first names.
The volunteers were then asked to answer a series of questions assessing how powerful, respected and psychologically safe they would feel in the work environment described to them by the researchers.
A double-edged sword
In their research, published via the pre-publication site SSRN, Zhe Zhang and Shuili Du explain that employees felt more at ease in their new fictitious company when the use of nicknames was reserved for employees. They viewed it positively when a boss agreed to be called "Panda” by their employees. "When someone in a position of power invites others to call them by a nickname, it makes them seem down to earth and in touch with the people around them," the researchers explain in the Harvard Business Review.
Conversely, calling a subordinate by a nickname seems far more reprehensible. This familiarity is perceived as a lack of respect, not as something fun or good-natured. Furthermore, Zhe Zhang and Shuili Du found that the use of nicknames can be more or less well perceived depending on the organizational structure of the company. Nicknames are associated with flexible, horizontal and egalitarian relationships, but they have no place in a pyramid-shaped organization, where managers stand apart from the "managed.”
Generally speaking, it's best to refrain from giving nicknames to the people you work with. It's preferable to call colleagues by their given or preferred name, or possibly by a shortened version of it if they're happy with that. Of course, it all depends on the broader culture of the organization or its geographical location. In Brazil, for example, the use of nicknames, or "apelido” in Portuguese, is much more widespread than in many other countries. Indeed, the country's president is better known as Lula than as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Still, if you don't live or work in this kind of culture, it's probably best to keep workplace nicknames to yourself.
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