is this racist?

[wingsnthat]

Last month 7 new people started in my office, most of them are not white and have names relevant to their cultures. We work in the office btw so all of this is face fo face.

My line manager makes zero effort to pronounce their names and it’s even annoying me - I can’t imagine how they feel. Over the past month, he makes a song and dance about it. He walks up to the same individuals daily then pulls a face and says “you know I’m bad with names”. He then cycles through say 10 different incorrect names and then laughs it off as “being bad with names” when he’s told he got it wrong again. This happens multiple times a day, for the past month.

When he’s told their name, he just says he won’t remember. He’s even resorted to referring to some of my colleagues by their first initial or giving them a random name like Mike, John or whatever instead of taking the time to remember their names.

My manager finds this funny/a cute personality quirk, but I’m thinking it has to be indirect discrimination, if not direct discrimination? It’s not even as if the names are super long or difficult to pronounce. I don’t work closely with the new starters but I remember their names.

Racist. Those that don't think it is, are racist too. Report him, please.

I have a British name (I’m Pakistani), I had a boss who would call me various ‘brown’ names, funnily enough he didn’t call the white people various ‘white’ names. Sometimes as an extra treat he would ‘pakify’ my British name by putting on a ‘Pakistani’ accent. He was only fired when he was racist in front of a client.

This sounds like it. It’s one thing to mispronounce people’s names as some names are tricky but it is specifically the non white people and he’s giving them white nicknames and it’s being carried on. Most managers would go out if their way to know employees names.
But they can’t complain as it’s just ‘banter’ and anyone who is offended by it is just playing the ‘race card’.

@Thisisjaaam Care to explain the meh comment?

I don’t think your jokey approach would work, it sounds like you’re aligning yourself with him.

Can you say “the joke’s worn thin now Bob. Just learn their names.”

Racist and reductive. Report him.

OP, it's encouraging you can see this behaviour for what it is and want to do something about it. I see you're in a tricky situation with reporting it but workplace cultures will never change if people like you don't take action. Take it to someone even higher up than this man's boss if you need to.

In my workplace people are expected to act on and report unacceptable behaviour, it's not just the responsibility of the recipient, or managers to witness and deal with.

This blog is quite interesting: "If You Can Learn How To Say Tchaikovsky, You Can Learn How To Say My Name Too" blog.lappthebrand.com/2018/01/07/mispronunciation-of-foreign-names/

No idea if he’s a racist. Possibly, not very bright, certainly incredibly rude.
I’m imagining David Brent. He probably thinks he’s being funny. He needs to be taken aside and told, no, you’re just a rude, annoying knob.

I work in HR and this is exactly the sort of behaviour we would investigate and if it is recurring would dismiss him for. Completely unacceptable. Please report it, even if you do so anonymously.

Yep.

Wouldn’t say racist just a bunch of new people coming in at once and he can’t be arsed to learn all the names. Very rude though but not racist necessarily.

Can’t believe anyone thinks this is not racist. Would he do this with a white persons name that was not familiar? Give them a new name? FFS. Sorry I haven’t RTFT but have you spoken to one of these people to let them know you see how he is treating them?

OP, going to HR would be the way to avoid office politics I think? If you try to be jokey about it that is engaging in office politics. This is disgusting behaviour and I really feel for your new colleagues who are probably desperate to cling onto a job mid-pandemic and therefore feel they have to put up with this behaviour

Can he remember white British names or is he hopeless at that?
If he is fine with he is absolutely racist
If he isn't then it's at best incredibly rude, unprofessional, unacceptable, demeaning way of dealing with his inadequacy... Giving them a white name suggests racist

It sounds like a poorly run company if not only Mr Dickhead but also his boss think it's acceptable.

If he was just 'bad with names' he'd avoid using names.
He's being a racist jerk.

"Seriously, Joe, make an effort."
(Especially say this if his name isn't Joe .)

Racist and disgusting behaviour. What a ghastly person.

Can he remember the more traditionally European names or is his amnesia selective? It's racist. He needs to be called out on it and if no one is willing or feels able to do it to his face, he needs reported. You cannot continue to go along with this. He's a manager for goodness sake, we need to do better than this.

I work in a primary school and see 170 children a day, I see their names on a computer and struggle with some pronunciations of white and other ethnicities. I PRACTICE and ask them if I am correct and apologise when I am wrong! So racist of him!!

I work in a primary school and see 170 children a day, I see their names on a computer and struggle with some pronunciations of white and other ethnicities. I PRACTICE and ask them if I am correct and apologise when I am wrong! So racist of him!!

You've got it in one. If a name is totally unfamiliar and you struggle to get it right then you practice it, apologise if you get it wrong and make the person feel valued. To behave the way this man is doing is disrespecting the given name that is special to them. Do you have 121s with him? I'd tell him that he needs to learn their names (one a day? Not hard) as it's not funny and in fact offensive. I'm glad you're looking for another job but please upset the apple cart before you go.

Yes it is racist in my opinion and I think your boss should be reported. Being asked to pronounce a person's name correctly should only have to be asked once.

@happytoday73

Can he remember white British names or is he hopeless at that? If he is fine with he is absolutely racist If he isn't then it's at best incredibly rude, unprofessional, unacceptable, demeaning way of dealing with his inadequacy... Giving them a white name suggests racist

I agree with this.

OP, what is he like with traditionally British names? I think this is the key to knowing whether he is racist or just incredibly rude.

At the moment I am definitely inclining towards him being racist, but if he treats Jonathan and Jessica in the same way, it may just point to him being a prat.

If there are no white new starters with traditional British names, then again his behaviour points to racism, or at the very least the appearance of racism, which anyone with half a brain cell can see.

Either way, I'd report him. At the least it's disrespectful. At worst it's racist.

Does anyone remember Shilpa 'Popadom'? Yeah ....

Yes it bloody well is racist, if someone I work with has a really complicated name I practice it over and over to myself until I have it right.
People keep calling me by a name that isn't mine - think an e on the end instead of a and it pisses me right off that they can't be bothered to call me by my correct name.