Irrationally enraged by colleague's email signature, or is it inappropriate?

[Peakhim]

I have a newish colleague who has his email set up to give his full name, degree achieved (masters) followed by his full job title. This comes up in all internal emails and his job rarely involves sending external ones.

I think it's wanky and actually rude. No one else does it and many have more qualifications than him. People even comment on it and poke fun. I hoped he would notice by now that it's not done and take it down. It doesn't help that it comes up in really big letters after his normal sign off.

I'm his line manager and wonder whether to tell him to take it off but things aren't going well with him overall so I don't want it to look petty or like bullying.

But fuck, who does that??

In my old job, everyone had their qualifications (and universities) but that came from above. I think it was to show off Oxbridge degrees to clients (The main office was near one of these cities).

In my current job, signatures are preset. Name, job title, logo.

The problem is a culture where people can poke fun and laugh at someone behind their back, instead of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

People are reading all sorts of stuff into the signature, assuming he is arrogant or competitive. He probably just thought it looked professional.

"You're the manager - enforce a standard email signature for your team."

That's punishing everyone else isn't it. There isn't a problem with anybody else's choice of signature.

It sounds like it may not be the signature but more this guy who is getting under your skin OP.
Let it slide. If it IS annoying other employees, like you have suggested, it will all come out in the wash.

A standard email signature isn't 'punishing' anyone. It just looks more professional all round.
And I think a job title signature is a basic courtesy to those receiving a business email. They need to know who they're dealing with, at minimum.

I can see why it may be construed as wanky but a lot of places ask you to do this. Perhaps he had to in his last job? The worst I've seen is someone who put their degree letters after their name on Facebook.

"I'm a bit confused by this. A relative of mine is a professor and so uses professor as her title when filling in forms and so on. Why wouldn't she?"

Sometimes, it's just not relevant. In my teens I had a job in a video shop and one guy signed up as x x phd. Did he think our little town video shop was going to rent him more intellectual videos than anyone else? I just didn't get why he needed to include it.

I don’t think it’s rude but it is wanky! One of my colleagues, who was not remotely wanky and absolutely lovely, used to have JP in his signature. No idea why, we all knew he was a JP as had paid time off for his magistrate duties.

I agree it' is a bit wanky, but why is it rude?

Well I do think it's rude because the qualification he has is irrelevant to his role and so it comes across as pointless showing off. We're a small organisation with limited job roles. There is absolutely no need for it and no one else does it. It may have been the done thing in his last place but I highly doubt it because it was the same sector.

I am struggling with him and have done lots to support him but he's defensive and great at making excuses. So it's annoying when I'm dealing with his short comings to get another email blazoning his degree!

Where did I say I allow people to laugh at him? I'm not really in a position to police what others say when it's just fleeting comments but I certainly don't join in and would act if it got worse.

"How is he expected to automatically know the company email signature formst if he hasn’t been told it?"

You look at other people's. That's what I've done in every job. Even when there isn't an enforced template, you make a signature that's similar to your colleagues'.

Just as an extra, I once had a colleague send me a late night drunken abusive email because I had put

Days of work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

at the bottom of my email sig. Turns out he took great offence to this. I worked in HE at the time and apparently "HE is NOT 9-5 engagement". Thing was, I got paid for only those three days and was only available to students for those three days.

Funny how some things get under other people's skin.

@BalloonSlayer - not very equality or PC tho is it?!
Some lecturers don't have a PhD so they'd be classed lower?! Why use it if you are a lecturer etc?! Why should that job be so special? Some people albeit do t work as a lecturer or scientist they do need a PhD in their line of work ... or it helps
If you've done a phd then your title changes, it's not just for work, bit like being married changes your title if you're a woman, or getting an honorary title from the queen .. you don't need that for your job
My job doesn't require me to be married so should I use Miss or Ms instead?! Or just nothing to keep it plain

That's punishing everyone else isn't it. There isn't a problem with anybody else's choice of signature.

‘Punishing’? Seriously, we’re talking about a standardised email signature here. I doubt Amnesty International is going to go onto lockdown.

OP - while I’d also find the degree thing a bit much if it wasn’t directly relevant to the job, is your colleague actually breaking any rules? You’re a manager - you need to give more constructive guidance than ‘Your sig’s a bit wanky, mate’.

Hmm like PP have pointed out, I think you have a problem with him personally. It's not really that big a deal!

Yes, as I said he's newish. No one laughed at it at first but it's as other aspects of his performance have come to light that this has started to rile people.

It's definitely not inappropriate as your title asks. And yes you are being irrational.

"A standard email signature isn't 'punishing' anyone."

Enforcing a standard when it's not necessary is restrictive though. Fine, if your organisation has decided it needs one, but if there isn't a problem with people's individual choices, let them carry on.
I object, for example, to those emails that include 'think before your print this' because I think they're actually LESS green because some people will inevitably print the email and it will waste even more paper because of that sentence.

Or long emails with disclaimers. Why should I, or someone like me, be forced to have a signature I don't like because one person doesn't have an appropriate signature?

I don't think it is rude to mention a higher degree, just pretentious and it will if anything gain him less respect at work. That might be a constructive way of mentioning it, or even something along the lines of 'this is not the usual company way'.

'Wanky' is not a word for a workplace in my view.

Your workplace sounds pretty nasty, to be honest. As his line manager, you should be helping him through any issues, not mocking him/allowing others to do so quite blatantly.

Then I sent some e-mails to a team offshore and started getting them back with signatures of “Dr (team leaders name) school of hard knocks, university of life”

This is FAR more wanky. I’d never look down on someone who didn’t have a degree, but anyone who has enough of a chip on their shoulder about it to do the whole ‘University of LIFE, mate’ business is guaranteed to be as thick as a plank without the plank’s personality and wit.

"Well I do think it's rude because the qualification he has is irrelevant to his role and so it comes across as pointless showing off."

This is the thing. It's like working as a project manager, but noting your PGCE in your signature I suppose. Just irrelevant.

I haven't used the word 'wanky' in the workplace though have I? I've used it on here. I absolutely would use it in the workplace but not in relation to someone's performance!

What is rude is letting people laugh about him behind his back and not suggesting he change his signature.

You think she put it on there just for you?

And so what if she was ahead academically? It's not like you even did the same job? What would that really have meant to you, if she was ahead?

No, of course she didn't include it for me. I have no problem with anyone being ahead of me academically but did run into people at work who assumed I was a bit thick because I was a PA. I'm late forties now so I went back in the day when it was much harder to get in....

What I'm saying is don't judge a book by it's cover.