Do you hug your Coworkers

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Permalink Reply by Maxine Zdebiak Karchie on October 31, 2008 at 1:07pm

Hugging is very therapeutic. Years ago I used to hug almost everyone, except upon first meeting them. When I started in this company, I was told it was not acceptable, so if we did, it was occasional and likely after work during social events. A few months ago, there was a change of some management and now it has become a much more common thing. I encourage the staff to do so if they are comfortable and I always ask if I can give them a hug or I say, "Oh give me a hug". We have a much closer office now. We are that much more productive and I truly believe that the staff are much more comfortable now. As an aside, we bring our dogs to work too! :-)
mz

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Permalink Reply by Russ Brodmerkle on October 31, 2008 at 3:33pm

I would have to be very comfortable with someone in order to hug them at work. I was always taught in my business program that the professional way to meet and greet is through a firm hand shake. I feel like it could make someone really uncomfortable and that is a line that is not worth it for me to cross. Friends and family are an entire different story.
That is so cool Maxine that you are allowed to bring dogs to work! Talk about a great work environment!

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Permalink Reply by Maxine Zdebiak Karchie on October 31, 2008 at 4:15pm

Most of the people that I work with have been with me for 3 or more years, with the exception of two female staff at six months, and Steve at 10 months, who is a big hugger! But true to the work world, I too was taught in business school that we should give a firm handshake. Don't misunderstand, with clients, I only hug them if I know them really well and we have that very comfortable type of relationship; most get a handshake with two hands - tops!
mz

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Permalink Reply by Rhenet on November 3, 2008 at 6:25am

good i'm new here and i'm a french speaker.i'm from Côte d'ivoire (west africa).I'm going to do my best to take part in eachactivity of our community.i would to promote this spirit of greenlight community here in my country.thak for all

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Permalink Reply by Xavier Fuller on November 3, 2008 at 10:21am

Hugging at work, depending on the work field can be unacceptable. During the summer, I worked on Wall Street and it is common for younger generations to have a tendency to hug, but with conservative firms, one has to rethink their actions.

As an acclaimed adage once said, "there is a time and place for everything."

Xavier

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Permalink Reply by Antonio Arch on November 5, 2008 at 10:21am

I'm one of the 24% who voted "sure" on this poll, but then again I lived in Montreal for a decade and did business with France, both societies where it's customary for even two men who haven't seen each other for a long time but who have worked closely together or are friends to kiss each other on the cheek. After moving to a different region one of the first things I had to do was make a conscious effort to stand a full six inches further away from people and not touch their shoulders when talking passionately about something that excited me. I think it's important to always keep in mind that you want to walk a line between what is appropriate and what is genuine. I've made the mistake of hugging people inappropriately at least two or three times that I can remember, then realising what I had done. An attempt at apology was brushed off as unnecessary; people appreciate knowing that they've been missed and that you are happy to see them. Then again, in my field everybody kisses everyone else unless they've got the flu :-)

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Permalink Reply by Kupe on November 5, 2008 at 1:21pm

I'm in the "Sure, but it’s not common where I live." column. In addition to hugging, I kissed on the cheek when I did some work in Argentina. I was not comfortable with it at forst, but it helped me build some trust with co-workers there. Kind of a "when in Rome" thing.

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Permalink Reply by Betsy on November 14, 2008 at 6:23am

When I re-entered the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom. I did not hug unless hugged first. I was the new age of PC and harassment training. We all eventually stopped hugging. It seemed that client hugging was OK though as we only see them once a year and over time they have become friends.
Last year we got a new boss. Not only does she hug, she kisses and is not a bit shy about it. It is only a full I am so glad to see you greeting or until next time salutation. So hugging is back. Most of us do start with only a handshake and see what happens.
So I guess that I would have to say- Sure because we are huggy in the south even if we come from up north.

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