Work won’t change my name after marriage

[Workproblem1]

I’m hoping someone can give me some advice. I got married 6 weeks ago, filled in all the forms at work before I went off, so it would be done before I got back to work. I emailed IT and gave the information and asked for my emails and usernames to be changed. The only things they have changed is my payroll and the name on my email account. My email address is still my maiden name and my usernames for the different computer systems are still in my maiden name. I was told they have changed everything that they can but it’s left me really deflated, it’s important for me to change my name I think it looks untidy and unprofessional to have an email address that doesn’t match the name. It’s also causing a lot of confusion with my clients who I have regular email contact with.

Has anyone had the same problem and can offer some advice? I don’t want to use my maiden name for work purposes as it’s not my name anymore and want everything the same.

Have you asked them why? Attention they refusing to change it? Or are they being inept at actioning the request?

YABU

this is actually quite a silly thing to be worked up over. Unless your clients are 6 year old children most won’t see it as unprofessional or confusing about the name in your signature being different to your email address.

Have you asked them what the issue is? If so, what have they said?

I will say that I don’t know anyone who has done this - changed work email, etc - upon getting married, whether they have taken their husband’s last name or not. It seems like a lot of unnecessary faff for no clear benefit. But, you can obviously do as you wish.

I agree with the others here - most clients will be able to work this out - not everyones (email) names match their signatures - i have a passport in my married name, drivers license in maiden name, all work goes through my maiden name, all school family stuff goest through my married name - bank cards in my maiden name - I've managed just fine! (Although at some points i do think just choosing one might have been better!!)

That is very strange - IME IT departments can and should deal with name changes quickly. What happens in a year when you have a new client and have been introduced with one name then give a different email address.

If your clients have an iota of intelligence they'll work it out and be fine with your name not matching your email.

I used to work for a big corporate and they were always changing email accounts when people got married. I'd follow up with them and ask them to explain what the issue is. Just saying they "can't" do it isn't sufficient.

This is the issue from my point of view. Telling someone your name and giving a different email address doesn’t look professional in my opinion. It looks lazy.

I don't think you can actually change your email address or user name in a Windows domain. Your post got me curious and I googled up whether it's possible and got this
learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/fundamentals/active-directory-users-profile-azure-portal

They can give you a new username and therefore a new email address. And they can then try to give you back all the same permissions. But it's not the same thing. They might have a IT policy to not issue new credentials for existing users. (That is unusual though).

To be fair to the OP, I can see their point. It's not their name any more! If she had left an abusive marriage and reverted to her maiden name rather than share her abuser's name I suspect posters would be more sympathetic. It should be able to be done - if nothing else a new email account with a forward from the old one could be done.

Reminds me of when I worked for the Co-op in the 80's & I had to write to Head Office because I'd got married. Apparently I 'wasn't the same person' now, so I had to write to them to ask to keep my job..
Have to explain this was the 1980's, NOT the 1880's.. :-0

It gets even stranger

Why would this be unprofessional or lazy?

Are you an office worker from the 1950’s?

I'm fairly sure you can't change it but you can create a new one as an alias and have all the emails go to the same place. I have 2 at work and they all come to the same inbox.

I can't get worked up about log ins not changing though. Does it really matter? IT usually have a lot more pressing matters than what you see for 5 seconds when you log in to file expenses or whatever.

How does it look lazy? How is they even an applicable term in this context? You aren’t…hardworking enough to change your email address? Eh?

Again, you’ve been asked several times what reason has been given for this. As you’ve not responded, I assume you haven’t gone back to IT and asked what the issue is. Perhaps go do that, as it’s more likely to solve your problem than saying odd things on AIBU.

I now consider myself both lazy and unprofessional. Who do I report myself to?

🤣🤣🤣

changing your email address sounds messy! people will keep emailing the old one

I guess the solution is a new email and have emails from old one forwarded to new one.

YANBU, op. It's no problem whatsoever to an IT department to do this. They would be able to link any emails sent to the old address to come through to the new one too. We did this where I work only recently when a teacher got married and decided to change her name and work to her married name.

I can't help but think that if you'd decided you were trans and changed your name accordingly, they'd be jumping to change everything for fear of being accused of being transphobic. They're dead naming you!!!

@PeachPies ffs

i'd expect them to issue you a new email (and auto foward anything to old email into new one)

but they can't CHANGE it - its 2 different accounts.

I'd not expect whatever username they give you to log on to be changed - no one external sees that.

OP, I understand you.

It doesnt matter your circumstances for changing your name, ie getting married. You have changed your name.

It's just disrespectful for your work to still have you login/use the email of your old name.

I actually had this almost exact same issue at a company I worked for. I changed my name and they were taking too long to change it. "Is it really that important?" Dragging their heels for no valid reason that I could see.

I emailed HR stated that I'd changed my name on X date and I would now only be referred to as Y on all communications and therefore from Monday will not be logging in as Z anymore onto their systems. I think because I put it in writing and looked quite firm about it, they took me more seriously (maybe worried I would go to ACAS about god knows what) and they changed my name the same day on all systems including email.

Stay firm with them.

This doesn't make sense. Email aliases are a doddle to set up.

Username may be harder but I've never heard of an email address alias being refused.

Yes they can change it. No need for 2 accounts or any forwarding.
Old email address can also be kept in case it is emailed.

Presuming your IT dept is windows based its a quick job. Tell them you want your existing email account renamed and your new name added as the send as email address. The old email address should be kept as a secondary address so you still receive anything sent to it.

I assume the issue is they don't want to pay for two accounts.

I asked for email forwarding in a previous role when it became obvious the boss couldn't spell my surname correctly, kept telling clients and staff my email address was something else, and people got pissy when I didn't reply to messages I hadn't actually received. Got turned down by IT on a cost basis, who suggested my boss just learnt how to spell.

Don't work there anymore. Boss never did learn how to spell my name.