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I've been working at my current company for around a year and a half now and since I started I have been given the nickname "Droof" that I don't particularly like. I've done my best the past couple of months to try and phase it out and get people to use my actual name but my co-workers think I am joking when I make that request. It's got to the point where there are people within the company that only know me by my nickname and get confused hearing my actual name in conversation. Personally, I find it quite unprofessional when my nickname is used to third party clients and new member's of the business.

Is there any way of trying to phase a nickname out when it is used by everyone I know within the company i'm at?

A. Fletcher
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    Yes, any request directed to that name gets ignored... won’t take long. – Solar Mike Mar 09 '20 at 09:06
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    Recent similar question: https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/154371/how-to-enforce-the-use-of-my-full-name-at-work-instead-of-its-shortened-version – Bernhard Döbler Mar 09 '20 at 09:07
  • @BernhardDöbler I didn't see that question, I will have a read. Thankyou – A. Fletcher Mar 09 '20 at 09:08
  • You are right not to like it. "Doof" means something around the meaning cluster of "stupid/blockhead/dumb" in German. – Captain Emacs Mar 09 '20 at 09:51
  • Well my name is Andrew so its sort of an adaptation of Drew with the F from my last name (long story) @JoeStrazzere – A. Fletcher Mar 09 '20 at 11:29
  • This is similar, but not exactly the same as the other question, as here at least some of the name calling is malicious and will need to be addressed by management, not just a polite request. – Robin Bennett Mar 09 '20 at 12:13
  • @JoeStrazzere Unfortunately, it was a nickname given to me within a week of starting here. I was even asked if I liked the nickname and I said no but it was used either way – A. Fletcher Mar 10 '20 at 12:42

1 Answers1

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To start off I would go to your manager/leader/boss. This is usually the easiest path to solving these problems. If however this does not work or you have already tried this, I'd suggest the following.

  1. Send out an email to your direct colleagues that states something like this:

    The past [X amount of time] I have been noticing I get called 'Droof' a lot. When trying to correct this or saying I do not like this it gets ignored.

    Therefore from now on I will no longer react to request that call me by this name.

  2. It is perfectly plausible for anyone that is not your direct colleague to have heard this name and just assume this is what you go by and that it is perfectly fine to call you Droof. Just correct them when they say something like 'Hey how are you doing Droof'. Example:

    Them: 'Hey how are you today Droof?'

    You: '[name], and I'm great, thanks for asking! How are you?'

Be sure to say this in a positive and happy tone and thank them for asking. This approach is already pretty passive aggressive, so you don't want to come across more aggressive than needed when someone just wants to show interest.

Luca
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