Happy to take views on this but here’s my fairly strong perspective currently. “Staff” is a rubbish word to use when referring to the people you work with.
And whilst I’m on the subject, how much do you cringe when you hear people referring to people “who work FOR me” or (worse still) “who are BELOW me”.
I totally understand that in days gone by “staff” was a perfectly acceptable way to refer to the people who worked in a business….but that was in the 70s!
“Staff” suggests a command-and-control, them and us, hierarchical tone which people just don’t warm to these days. Nor should they!
Surely we work WITH people.
We work ALONGSIDE people.
Are they not TEAM MATES?
Yes we have different roles and these positions come with different titles but are we not all working on the same TEAM? Working TOGETHER towards a common goal? Each doing our bit to contribute to a COLLECTIVE effort?
You could say that I’m splitting hairs. That I’m making a big deal out of nothing.
Or you could say that the way you refer to others sets the tone for how you approach others.
What’s your view?
