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Bullshitting at Work: Acceptable to Curse?
 

Addinator's picture
ST
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 4:30pm
cursing-300x300.jpg

Do you curse at your job? Honestly, I've always thought that a rhetorical question mainly because cursing is so prevalent in our culture that I assumed it rolled straight over into your job. Then I hit finance, and realized that I was a totally amateur when it came to cursing. Maybe it's just the ethos here on the desk, or finance in general, but cursing is everywhere. I mean everywhere. I can't speak for banking or anything else, but I'd bet it's much the same.

About 54 percent of men nationwide report swearing, compared with 47 percent of women. Employees aged 35 to 44 swear the most (58 percent) and those aged 18 to 24 the least (42 percent). One explanation for the generation gap is that people in junior positions are less willing to swear in front of their bosses, while senior staffers may feel more entitled to mouth off.

I'm more curious as to why Finance seems to buck the trend when it comes to professional language in the workplace. Shit, the MD's here write emails that are the equivalent of a 13 year old's text message. R u DN TRD YT. Come c me pls. I just don't get it. Maybe my experience is an aberration, but I'm betting it isn't. Are there just too many type A personalities in one confined space that professionalism goes out the window? More importantly, would you fear being fired for cursing too much?

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Comments

Working9-5's picture

I have no problem with

ST
(Gorilla, 613
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 4:51pm

I have no problem with cursing at work. I can't even tell how many times I've said 'Fuck off' to other traders during a normal day. Guess it comes down to the fact that a deviation on the fourth decimal means +/- a few thousand.

CNBC sucks

"This financial crisis is worse than a divorce. I've lost all my money, but the wife is still here." - Client after getting blown up

Nabooru's picture

Very prevalent, but as with

(Gorilla, 689
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 4:54pm

Very prevalent, but as with anything it's good to feel the culture out to see what's tolerated then adapt. And I'm pretty sure MD's write like that because they couldn't give a shit. I mean if I was in that position, I wouldn't either.

Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?

SirTradesaLot's picture

All day, every day.

 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 4:56pm

All day, every day.

Turbo leverage for capital explosion -- BD Capital

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sayandarula's picture

i work in F500. my boss and

O
(King Kong, 1,809
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 4:57pm

i work in F500. my boss and senior analyst are women in their late thirties with kids, so no. i also work closely with our finance and engineering teams in Utah, and i don't think these people have ever sworn in their lives. so no... i rarely swear at work.

Money Never Sleeps? More like Money Never SUCKS amirite?!?!?!?

criticalmass's picture

depends on the desk culture.

ST
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 5:02pm

depends on the desk culture. i think cursing is the only way to communicate on some trading desks. this is normal for trading because if you screw up, you lose money.

Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

ish happens.

BlackHat's picture

I have an affinity for

HF
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 5:06pm

I have an affinity for cursing to begin with, but around here it gets pretty bad. I think the reasoning is that we're in a high stress environment and we just need the goddamn information from you, so say the thing in as simple of language as humanly possible, and a lot of the time that means going right to the least common denominator - cursing.

Perfect example - I'm at my desk right now and I have some notes here jotted down from an important call I had yesterday with an exec at a company I'm looking at. So this guy's time is limited and I want him to talk as much as possible so I can get a candid look at wtf is going on, so my notes are quick and to the point... here's a look at some bullet points, and these are verbatim:

-if ur systm fails -> FUCKD
-says ceo is pussy & no1 gets options
-no source of entrpnrl drive

So that gives you an idea I guess... and that translates to when I'm trying to pitch or if someone is pitching a business to me. I just want to know the answers, I want to tell you what you did wrong, and I want things clarified as quickly as possible. Cursing is a way to emphasize that urgency I think. "It's a clusterfuck" works a lot better than explaining the intricacies of why it's a very disorganized company. It's just a better form of communication when all you want is a straight answer or a clear request.

I hate victims who respect their executioners

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ladubs111's picture

lol when i get frustrated at

IA
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 5:20pm

lol when i get frustrated at modeling some company, i'll save the excel file as FUCK YOU. then change it later to the real company name and date. Think it sort of helps get rid of some of the stress, like when you yell "FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK."

GS's picture

There is absolutely no

ST
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 5:38pm

There is absolutely no cursing on a trading floor

Macro Arbitrage's picture

I swear often, but rarely

HF
(King Kong, 1,369
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 5:53pm

I swear often, but rarely aggressively. I simply wouldn't trust a person who doesn't occasionally swear.

"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

newfirstyear's picture

When I was in banking it was

ER
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 6:08pm

When I was in banking it was hugely prevelant. We had an analyst who honestly, every other word out of his mouth was fuck.

Since moving into corp dev I curse less but still do a lot - but others don't so I do feel concious of it.

prospie's picture

I think there's a bit of a

(King Kong, 1,682
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 7:03pm

I think there's a bit of a Wall St vs Main St divide on cursing.

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ERGOHOC's picture

'Fuck' was a curse?

AM
(Orangutan, 271
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 7:20pm

'Fuck' was a curse?

DontSleep's picture

Everyone I work with curses

ST
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 8:51pm

Everyone I work with curses alot. I'm going to say that fuck is the most commonly used word in the office...literally. I've heard some pretty out of control statements on my desk. Sexism, racism, vulgar jokes....it pretty much never stops. I don't really participate beyond the regular cursing...never know when that shit can come back to bite you in the ass. There are some other divisions within earshot of the institutional S&T desk...

Since I've worked at my current job, I curse so much my girl gives me endless shit about it. Whatever though, fuck it.

edit - I agree with the comment below, our MD says the most obscene shit I've ever heard come out of another humans mouth. Most of it's pretty funny.

TheBigBambino's picture

MD's set the tone. 3/4 of

VC
(Orangutan, 272
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 8:45pm

MD's set the tone. 3/4 of mine do not curse at all so not too much cursing occurs in my team. I've never heard the F word used even once.

The less dramatic words get expressed once or twice a day though and nobody really cares.

"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."

happypantsmcgee's picture

All day everyday.

O
(Almost Human, 9,621
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 9:00pm

All day everyday.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford

awqtfq's picture

I immediately thought of the

(Orangutan, 250
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 9:15pm
Michael Scarn's picture

People swear left and right

(Orangutan, 251
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 9:38pm
optimus_prime's picture

I frequently say "fuck" but

 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 10:26pm
Neighbor's picture

All day erryday

IB
(King Kong, 1,236
 
Points)
 on 8/8/12 at 10:26pm

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

fifteen's picture

no cursing in f500.

O
 
Points)
 on 8/9/12 at 12:39am
dogboo's picture

First day of my internship,

 
Points)
 on 8/9/12 at 1:02am
UFOinsider's picture

TheBigBambino: MD's set the

O
(Human, 10,349
 
Points)
 on 8/9/12 at 9:49am

YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...

rls's picture

I do not partake, but

HF
(Orangutan, 367
 
Points)
 on 8/9/12 at 5:06pm

Bene qui latuit, bene vixit- Ovid

huanleshalemei's picture

.

(Gorilla, 519
 
Points)
 on 8/28/12 at 9:31pm

The Auto Show

BlackHat's picture

Michael Scarn: People swear

HF
 
Points)
 on 8/10/12 at 1:23pm

I hate victims who respect their executioners

Follow BH & Co. on Twitter: @DumbLuckCapital
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