Note calling a person of a certain background “Boss” in a certain part of the US can raise eyebrows. Unless the boss in question gets ones sense of humor.
Also Boss Tweed and others like him. I seems like the title was more popular once than it is now.
Never in my life, but one of my employees in China had a habit of calling me “boss.” I think that’s just cultural though, because calling me “laoban” would be perfectly normal in Chinese. (We’re still in contact, so now he calls me “elder brother.”)
I do. As a good natured nod at the power differential. The boss is not my equal, and it irritates me when a boss tries to downplay their role in my life and act like just another of us minions.
I’ve called a few of them ‘boss’. Most as a sign of respect and friendship, but a couple because boss spelled backwards is ‘double-ess oh bee’, and they were really, really SOBs.
One hopes they never watched Rocky and Bullwinkle as kids.
I never have. I might have called one boss boss, but that would not have been as a term of endearment, but a term of hatred.
Yes, sometimes, but I mean it in the nicest way… also, I think I’m going to have to start calling her “fearless leader” too… thanks, Nava!
It can depend on the company culture and context. The Chinese company I work for use honorifics. It’s a Chinese thing. The self made billionaire CEO is call “big boss” or “BB”. Even in the Chinese language communication, execs are prefaced by “sir”. As in “Dear Sirs, can I draw your attention to the attached powerpoint.”.
He is also slightly older than I. In the confucian tradition, then he is my elder and there are specific honorifics in Chinese to use. But our foreign (US) customers don’t understand that at all. An easy way to translate would be call him Executive Vice President xxx. But that’s overly formal for the US tech industry.
Now my direct boss and I share the same English name. It’s a common biblical name such as Luke.
So, in my emails and conversations, I will refer to him as “Boss Luke”. He understands, our staff understand, and my American customers all understand if I refer to “Boss Luke” or “Luke” who is whom.
I call my boss “Chief.” Mostly, it’s an homage to my favorite TV show, Get Smart. But it’s also because he is from India, and calling an Indian “Chief” just cracks my ass up.
Now, my true boss, Mrs. Mortiss, I always call Boss, doing my best Tony DiNozzo impression. “On it, Boss!”
Never. Might occasionally be referred to as the bossman, but that’s it. I had coworker who would refer to him as fearless leader, but she’s gone, and no one else picked it up.
As he has a very common first name, he’s had a nickname based on his last name since he was a teenager. We either use the nickname or his last name, also to differenciate him from the other people with the same name.
i have and i said it in the way Rochester used ot call jack benny “boss” and yes it pissed them off to no end…
My first job was at an Italian restaurant. The owner was in her seventies and we all called her Mama. She was the founder of an empire. After her, all of the people I worked for were referred to by first name.
Of course. And if you work in a kitchen you call your boss Chef Chief.
I have been a free-lancer all my life, I have called many people boss but I usually meant it in jest.