Chit Chat
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27 Jan 20
20:20
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08 May 10
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.
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"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."
'Terrible idea'
Nevertheless, Ms Francke does not think sports chatter should be banned, just moderated.
She said that good managers should be inclusive and ensure that everyone in their team feels comfortable.
But sports journalist Jacqui Oatley thinks cracking down on sports chatter would be a "terrible idea".
"If you ban football chat or banter of any description, then all you're going to do is alienate the people who actually want to communicate with each other," she told the Today programme.
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"It would be so, so negative to tell people not to talk about sport because girls don't like it or women don't like it, that's far more divisive."
She said the secret was to discuss sport in an inclusive way and to notice if people were blankly "staring into space" during the conversation.
What next?
And the majority of people responding to a LinkedIn post from the BBC appear to agree with Ms Oatley.
Office manager Debra Smyth worries that other topics such as Love Island, EastEnders and Game of Thrones could also be censored if sport chatter is banned.
"I personally think companies should not dictate what people talk about, as not talking about it will alienate those with similar interests," she said.
"Where would it end? Banning people with children talking about them so as not to alienate people without children. Certainly not!"
Recruiter Peter Ferguson said: "I have seen managers and staff build a more direct bond over a shared love of sport which has excluded those who don't share that interest.
"The answer is not to ban the conversation, it is to ensure managers and staff are trained to understand that those shared interests should not get in the way of management decisions or working collaboratively."
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.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
"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."
'Terrible idea'
Nevertheless, Ms Francke does not think sports chatter should be banned, just moderated.
She said that good managers should be inclusive and ensure that everyone in their team feels comfortable.
But sports journalist Jacqui Oatley thinks cracking down on sports chatter would be a "terrible idea".
"If you ban football chat or banter of any description, then all you're going to do is alienate the people who actually want to communicate with each other," she told the Today programme.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
"It would be so, so negative to tell people not to talk about sport because girls don't like it or women don't like it, that's far more divisive."
She said the secret was to discuss sport in an inclusive way and to notice if people were blankly "staring into space" during the conversation.
What next?
And the majority of people responding to a LinkedIn post from the BBC appear to agree with Ms Oatley.
Office manager Debra Smyth worries that other topics such as Love Island, EastEnders and Game of Thrones could also be censored if sport chatter is banned.
"I personally think companies should not dictate what people talk about, as not talking about it will alienate those with similar interests," she said.
"Where would it end? Banning people with children talking about them so as not to alienate people without children. Certainly not!"
Recruiter Peter Ferguson said: "I have seen managers and staff build a more direct bond over a shared love of sport which has excluded those who don't share that interest.
"The answer is not to ban the conversation, it is to ensure managers and staff are trained to understand that those shared interests should not get in the way of management decisions or working collaboratively."
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Replies: 23
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Nick Ferrari gave that Francke woman a hard time on LBC this morning.
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Liberals and the left telling us what to do again.
Liberals couldn't be less liberal if they tried, it's an amazing paradox! |
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How about we go back to saying what we like when we like
Call a spade a spade and man the fùck up |
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this is the 2nd thread on this.........
Just get fcukers of my telly when i'm trying to enjoy sport and forget the smell of menstruation................  |
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You would think it is April the first.
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I have a love of tea cakes and ginger wigs and I felt extremely left out at work. There was no communication at all just laughter.
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Women commentating on men's sport is one of the worst executive decisions ever made
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 what about the men who feel left out when the birds in the office are talking about clothes or reality tv ffs |
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Life is becoming more and more joyless in the UK because the minority PC brigade just love being busy.
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Quite right too. There's a time and place for everything, chatting about football at WORK is not one; doing it at one's leisure is ok but not at one's workplace. No doubt salaried posters here will disagree, and possibly accuse me of being a "kill joy".
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Men really have to stop listening to women.
Quite patently both sexes should be able to speak about what they choose. |
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'and i don't agree with that in the workplace' - Eric Hitchmo
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I went to a back to work meeting a couple of years ago impossible123, and the bloke I had was sat there on his PC with Sky Sports News on watching the sporting news coming through
I didn't hold it against him though, god that job must have been boring |
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I am a pensioner....who would have guessed
When I was young there were more men's only areas of societies...clubs, activities, jobs even the priesthood. Women have worked their way into all these areas on the claims of discrimination. We seemed intent of creating a society of one gender.. But there is danger here, not all men are so trans genders as others, so what do you leave them with? Well one thing VIOLENCE...and I think we are seeing that, because that is one area women will never compete with men. But this does not our society much good does it? I think we need to backtrack a little, and ensure there are men only areas, and women only areas of course although we will of still have a majority of mixed areas. We just need to use a little common sense. There is one other alternative ISLAM, who give women very little, but we don't want to go there surely? They don't allow gambling for one thing  |
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You are absolutely right Sontaran...
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PC AND DIVERSITY - DISASTER
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One other thing, with women in man's faces all the time, there is a risk of creating more gay men
Because the smell of oestrogen could well become overpowering, a little excites men, but a lot, well it can become unpleasant if men are not in the mood for sex. So women themselves can think on that one?????? Make sure you leave us men something |
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For about the past 15 years I have simply avoided women as much as possible.
The peace this has brought me is indescribable |
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it's all about the wh0re moans
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I sometimes feel left out when people talk about football. Have no interest in it. Also feel left out when people talk about love island or celebs go dating. Cricket I am interested in but people that are not usually speak up and say they have no interest. Conversation moves onto something else.
Are they basically saying people should not be allowed to talk at work or in the pub or wherever in case someone in the group is not interested in a particular conversation? |