Firms urged to crack down on office football chat ..

Fretwired

Chat about football or cricket in the workplace should be curtailed, a management body has warned.

Chartered Management Institute head Ann Francke said sports banter can exclude women and lead to laddish behaviour such as chat about sexual conquests.

"A lot of women, in particular, feel left out," she told the BBC's Today programme.

"They don't follow those sports and they don't like either being forced to talk about them or not being included."

"I have nothing against sports enthusiasts or cricket fans - that's great," she said.

"But the issue is many people aren't cricket fans," she added, arguing bosses should crack down on sports banter.

Ms Francke is concerned that discussing football and, for example, the merits of video assistant refereeing (VAR) can disproportionately exclude women and divide offices.

"It's a gateway to more laddish behaviour and - if it just goes unchecked - it's a signal of a more laddish culture," she said

"It's very easy for it to escalate from VAR talk and chat to slapping each other on the back and talking about their conquests at the weekend.

Why not ban men from the workplace ....

stickyfiddle

Fretwired said:

Why not ban men from the workplace ....

Presumably because many of us agree that football and cricket are kinda boring?

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

Fretwired said:

Why not ban men from the workplace ....

Presumably because many of us agree that football and cricket are kinda boring?

Feminist .... :-)

thecolourbox

What about the women who like football?

Though I assume this is one of those news stories meant to just annoy us to distract from actual news

fretmeister

What a load of shit.

I cant stand football and I don't feel left out, I feel relieved that they cant involve me in the conversation.

Philly_Q

I think it's depriving a lot of middle-aged men of their only means of social interaction.

tony99

you see that ludicrous display last night?

Octafish

stickyfiddle said:

Fretwired said:

Why not ban men from the workplace ....

Presumably because many of us agree that football and cricket are kinda boring?

Not 'kinda boring', just 'really fucking boring'

thecolourbox

So what topics can we discuss that are interesting to all? Or should we all just shut the hell up and never speak "you are here to work not to enjoy yourselves!"

Philly_Q said:

I think it's depriving a lot of middle-aged men of their only means of social interaction.

I agree, chatting about anything is hard enough for some

PolarityMan

I kinda feel like for a lot of people supporting a football team is a way to vicariously experience success for those to mediocre to achieve it on their own. 

Philly_Q

I think they should also curtail workplace conversation about fitbits, how many steps you've done today, how many litres of water you've drunk today, plant-based diets.... and Love Island.

VimFuego

it's the double standards of most office environments that gets me. I'm supposed to feign interest in what their group of vastly overpaid foreigners did that weekend, but when I want to talk about the tramp fights I attended, they get call pissy and call the police. 

PolarityMan

Philly_Q said:

I think they should also curtail workplace conversation about fitbits, how many steps you've done today, how many litres of water you've drunk today, plant-based diets.... and Love Island.

Presumably to bring everyone up to speed on approved conversation material we will also need to hand round primers on bigsbys, tone wood and "chappers".

Octafish

thecolourbox said:

 Or should we all just shut the hell up and never speak "you are here to work not to enjoy yourselves!"

That is kind of the point of the vast majority of jobs.

MrSwanson

tony99 said:

you see that ludicrous display last night?

Problem is Arsenal always try and walk it in...

fields5069

And anal intercourse. I'm fed up with bants about anal. FFS.

Octafish

fields5069 said:

And anal intercourse. I'm fed up with bants about anal. FFS.

What in a 'less chat, more action' kind of way?

Wazmeister

The. World. Is. Going. Mad.

Seriously, I have a strong objection to this; the feminisation of men has to stop, and be challenged. 

I have two mates who are really struggling; I say 'mates', they are people I know, and I try to support and help them out in minor, insignificant ways.

Once a week/couple of weeks, I'll simply call them... and talk... nothing more than that.

Most the time, we simply talk football, and other associated bollocks.

And it has helped them. A simple chat.

guitars4you

No one and I mean no one in my work place objects to any of my chats about sports - Hang one there, I don't employ anyone !!!!

Fretwired

VimFuego said:

it's the double standards of most office environments that gets me. I'm supposed to feign interest in what their group of vastly overpaid foreigners did that weekend, but when I want to talk about the tramp fights I attended, they get call pissy and call the police. 

The same with me when I recount the nights at my local dogging site ...

77ric

I have never known a work place conversation about football or any other sport for that matter to lead to talking about sexual conquests. 

Conversations about that lass on till three having a cracking arse and how much Dave the sales rep fancies the knickers off her don’t even lead to talking about sexual conquest. 

Look I agree talking about sex or anything sexually related in any work place is really not on, but banning conversation about sports is just a joke. 

Anne Francke obviously holds some sexist views about men in the work place and should probably go on one of those awareness and acceptance courses she is no doubt a fan of sending men too. 

Probably needs a right good rogering too