Reply to Ex-military at my agency calling every woman "Ma'am"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is a new hire at my agency and he's referring to every female colleague and female executive as "Ma'am" in lieu of her first name.  We are very much a first name agency and people titter when he did this the first couple of times but it has become stale (he does it on email too) and it's bothering me on a lot of levels.  It creates an artificial distance with female employees and to me it's an artificial politeness that doesn't reflect modern working relationships in DC.  I also think he's shooting himself in the foot with agency clients.

How can I point this out to him?  We are part of a top level small working group that services the rest of the agency.[/quote]

Why don't you just talk to him?  The military has a different culture and he needs mentoring and guidance about the new culture he working in.   He believes he is being respectful and is practicing what he was taught in the military because in the military, because this is a sign of respect.  Just explain to him that in your agency, calling each other by first names is acceptable.  He may be uncomfortable at first, but eventually will adapt.[/quote]

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