(MENAFN- Live Mint) A Reddit post by a young associate in a Company Secretary firm has sparked debate on workplace respect and hierarchy . The poster, who specialises in Insolvency and Bankruptcy, shared a WhatsApp chat with his manager.

The issue began when the associate reminded his boss that a case folder was missing and requested a copy. Instead of addressing the problem, the boss blamed him for not checking earlier.

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Matters escalated when the associate addressed him as“Mr” instead of“Sir”. The OP says it's something he has been doing for months without conflict.

“I don't really like to address people as Sir/Ma'am. I don't mean any sort of disrespect, through and through i have been professional. But, yesterday, the way he spoke really surprised me, I have never encountered such an instance,” the user wrote.

The boss reacted angrily, demanding to always be called“Sir”. The associate clarified that he meant no disrespect and preferred professional titles over honorifics.

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“This man has a superiority complex and anger issues. He addresses others as 'bhaiya', 'arey' and when he is p*ssed he wouldn't mind using profanity but that's alright because he is the boss,” the Reddit user wrote on his boss.

Social media reactions

“Start using First name rather than last name and no need to add Mr for such a-holes,” came a reply from a Reddit user.

“I tell my team that they have to put 50 rupees in a jar every time they call me sir, and we will go for dinner and drinks with that money every quarter (with me paying the rest). It's a joke and I don't make them do it, but I can't imagine being called sir, it's so weird,” posted another user.

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Another Reddit user commented,“In IT, no one can ask that (to call sir or mam), it's strictly first name based. Some freshers say sir or ma'am and they are immediately corrected.”

“With respect to being addressed as Sir, your boss is an idiot, but learning how to stroke egos is a useful skill to have. A point, though, if you are assigned a task, finish it. If you have requested some information from someone else, who hasn't delivered, follow up,” came from another.

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