OnePoll
NAME GAME
Love has been revealed as female employees' most hated pet name, in a poll yesterday. (Sun)
The term of affection was named as the comment most likely to rile women in the nation's workplaces.
Second place went to 'darlin', followed by 'Babe', 'Mate' and 'Hun'.
'Kiddo' came sixth, while 'chick' or 'chicken' was at seven, with 'dear' voted into eighth place.
'Poppet' and 'pet' completed the top ten.
The study of 3,000 female workers revealed that almost three quarters think pet names in the office are 'unacceptable', while another one in four say it makes them angry.
One in four even thinks it is unprofessional.
A spokesman for market research site www.onepoll.com said: ''These results show that women clearly aren't happy to be called by anything other than their name.
''Guys might think they are being affection by calling someone babe or love, but it seems women simply find them patronising and demeaning.
''Many are just cringe-worthy and dated - it's hardly surprising that many women can't stand being called pet or poppet by their 50-year-old boss.
''Some of the pet names may get an OK reception in your workplace, but in general, the impression we got is that the best advice is to stay away from them.''
Researchers found that 'love' is considered too over-familiar while 'babe' was labelled as patronising.
'Hun' is irritating and 'mate' was said to be too personal.
And women felt 'darlin' wasn't respectful enough.
The pet names are most likely to be used during a face-to-face conversation with almost two thirds saying this is when they usually hear the terms.
But one in ten regularly get called by them over the phone and another 15 per cent get addressed by the terms in an email.
And male bosses or colleagues are most likely to address a women with one the terms of endearment.
For one in 20 women it has gotten so bad, they have even complained about it to a manger.
TOP TEN HATED OFFICE PET NAMES
1. Love
2. Darlin'
3. Babe
4. Mate
5. Hun
6. Kiddo
7. Chick/Chicken
8. Dear
9. Poppet
10. Pet
