That’s one way to make your colleagues dislike you.
A man who was sent to HR for laughing at his co-worker’s baby names has detailed the incident in a Reddit post.
The brave employee posted the story in a popular subreddit called ‘Am I The A**hole’, where he asked other users to decide whether or not he was out of order for having a chuckle at his colleague’s expense.
He wrote: “{My colleague] made her first appearance in the office with her new babies to introduce them to our team.
“When asked what she had named the boys (as up until this appearance she was undecided) she told me that she was naming them ”Sean”.
“When I asked about the other baby, she said ‘no, they are both Sean, one with an ”A” and one with an ”E” so Sean and Seen’. This co-worker’s last name is also ‘Sean’. When I pointed this out she said ‘yes, like Tom Tom or Jay Jay’.
He continued: “They had a good chuckle and ended up agreeing with the replies the naming process wasn’t ideal, and maybe the overwhelming process of having two newborns left them too tired to think straight
“Despite the fact they had already sent off the paperwork to the birth deaths and marriages office (the place you lodge births for in Australia), they called up the Brisbane office and the paperwork had only been provisionally processed, and they have used this time to reassess.
“They have withdrawn the paperwork (for Seen only) and will think of a new name, but they are keeping Sean Sean as they like it. I have also been reported to HR for making this Reddit post (not by the parents, they think it’s hilarious) so well well, if it isn’t the consequences of my actions.
“They also want everyone to know that ”calling her an idiot isn’t the worst thing I’ve said to her this year’.”
The original poster added that their meeting with HR was ‘underwhelming’, as they were asked ‘to be more considerate of co-worker’s feelings and to ‘not put this meeting all over the internet’.
The comments section was filled with other users who mostly seemed to be in agreement that there was no reason for the man to feel guilty about his comment.
One wrote: “Sean isn’t a stupid name, but Seen is. I don’t care if you were rude. It’s better for the mum to have the rude awakening before her children are born rather then after.”
Another added: “My friend literally named her kid Beetle. So yeah. People are dumb.”
“I’m an identical twin,” said one user. “Matching names is probably the cruelest thing you could do to a person. It’s not just confusing. It would keep the twins from developing identities outside their twin-ness.”
A fourth commented: “The best piece of advice I got with respect to my twins was ”the world will focus on their twin-ness, your job is to nourish their individuality’.”
One of the most highly-liked comments went to this particular user, who wrote: “Maybe I’m also an AH but if she can’t handle the backlash for her kids’ names, think about how her boys will feel growing up.
“Might as well start now because they’re in for a childhood of jabs and jokes! Hopefully she legally changes them after a good night’s sleep in a few months.”
