To expect one's colleagues to respect the 2 minute silence for Armistice Day

[suebfg]

...and not make a phone call in the middle of the office?

Did they realise the time? Was it an urgent call?

Otherwise yanbu. Even if they didn't agree with the reason for the silence then 2 minutes to stay quiet isn't hard for an adult

I was in the Trafford centre at 11am and the whole place came to a standstill for 2 minutes.

yanbu

Having had to be reminded myself today (I hadnt entirely marked the precise time) perhaps the person hadnt realised.

suebfg - Do you work in my office???? Hmmmmm.

YANBU.

Did you say anything to them? My work sent multiple emails asking workers to respect the 2 minutes silence where possible. Did your work remind anyone? Did they do it on purpose or had they forgotten? If the former I'd have continued to observe my 2 minutes silence and then told my colleague that you understand they may have forgotten but you found it extremely disrespectful not just to the fallen but also to your fellow colleagues who wished to observe the occasion.

yanbu

The 2 minute silence isn't mandatory - maybe they didn't want to observe it? Up to you to do what you want, but you can't expect everyone else to have the same views as you.

YABU

Um, I personally think that marking Remembrance day - like giving to charity or praying - is a personal matter and people shouldn't insist that other people follow their lead.

Then you leave the office for 2 minutes... You did not disrespect your colleagues and their views by making a phonecall.

Why should your day be disrupted by people wishing to remain silent?

If you do not want to mark the Silence, that's fine.

But neither should you spoil it for others.

It isn't difficult to find work which you can continue with unobtrusively and without noise.

YANBU seems odd that they wouldn't notice if the rest of the office was silent. Were they trying to make a point do you think?

suebfg yes yabu to expect colleagues to respect the 2 minutes' silence. Didn't you know their conversation is the most important thing in the world ever and they really didn't realise it was Armistice Day honest and oh was I being loud oops.

Stupid silly cow. Our company has sent numerous email reminders but apparently this woman found them difficult to read or something.

Can you tell I've been silently seething about this all day?

There is the possibility that this arose out of a genuine mistake, however isn't it always disrespectful not to mark Armistice Day? This is about morals and respecting those who gave their lives to protect our way of life.

As I don't agree with any of Britians recent conflicts, I choose not to wear a poppy, However, I would never deliberately talk through the 2 minutes silence.

Even if you don't agree with it, a reasonable mature person would make an excuse at 11.10am and go to the toilet, pop outside & make a phone call etc. You don't have to spoil it for everyone else around you.

It's about respect, manners and courtesy.. Did you say anything?

No, I didn't say anything as I didn't want to embarrass the person in cases it was a genuine mistake. I would have been mortified if it were me.

actually no, you dont leave the office to make a phonecall just because some people want to observe a 2 minute silence. if the silence is important to some people and the phonecall is disturbing it then they should leave the office. work carries on as normal for those that dont observe it. it's an office, it's where calls get made.

and no it isn't disrespectful not to mark it. it would be disrespectful to purposely prevent others marking it but it is a personal choice as to whether you yourself observe the silence. who are you to say what other people should respect?

We didn't pay any attention to it at work. I actually didn't realise so many people took it seriously. Not everyone agrees with war - it's a personal decision.

YABU

YABU

What Booyhoo said.

I'm a bit concerned that the whole Poppy thing's got so big recently, with the embroidery on football shirts even. It all seems a bit competitive, and anti- the personal reflective spirit of the event, no?

One year we had one woman jabbering on and on throughout the silence. She finally said "why are you all so quiet?" and twigged what was going on.

This year we all left the office to congregate outside so the few not observing the silence could do what they liked.

Why should your day be disrupted by people wishing to remain silent?

Is that a wind-up? Your day is disrupted because you can't speak/ make a phone call for just 2 minutes out of the entire day?!

You see I would have.

I think Bridget has the right attitude (except making excuses at 11.10am would have been too late - I'm assuming typo). You cannot expect the occasion to mean the same for everyone but you should expect your colleagues to be respectful of others and their need to mark the occasion...

I lost a cousin in Iraq, he was 25. Had my colleague disrespected me and the 2 minutes silence in this way (on purpose) they'd have known about it.

As the OP said management had circulated emails indicating that the observation was to be marked in the workplace, then it is for those who did not wish to participate to absent themselves in this case (or find a compatible other activity that did not intrude. Haven't we all thousands of emails to check?)

where does OP say management circulated emails?