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Question:
Is it normal in the western/European culture to be pointing your index finger at an older colleague? For my culture. It is considered rude.

Update 4April2018:
Thank you everyone for your time. I had read all of your answers and comments. They gives me very valuable lessons. What I have learnt from here are
1. Providing background might mislead the question
2. 2 years gap is the same age
3. Pointing index finger is rude not only in Asia, but also in the western
4. Always take an evidence in order to avoid bias

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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – enderland
    Apr 4, 2018 at 14:08

2 Answers 2

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Is it normal in the western/euro pointing index finger to the older colleague?

In the UK this would be rude and unproductive. It may be tolerated to an extent as being humorous, but only if all parties felt this way.


So, what should you do?

I think that, if you are his manager, then you need to have a serious talk with the junior about their behaviour. You need to emphasise that if this is not done, then the junior will be let go.

In the Performance Improvement Plan, you need to address:

  • Hours worked
  • Quality of work
  • Attitude to work

I recommend this approach because I advocate firing someone only if 2 conditions hold. They are both incompetent and have a lousy attitude.


If you are not the junior's manager, you need to raise all of these issues, with documentation, to their manager.

The evidence matters in both cases. If you can quantify lost hours of productivity from tardiness, hand holding and their bullying ways, then you have a better basis for letting them go if they don't improve.

Regarding what evidence needs to be collected, your company may have guidance on how to write a Performace Improvement Plan, or you may want to discuss it with your manager or HR.

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    Be aware that in software development, equating working hours to productivity is a shaky proposition at best. What a lot of people underestimate is that the majority of software development is a creative process which means spending more hours on something is not necessarily going to be more productive.
    – Cronax
    Apr 3, 2018 at 11:14
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    @Cronax: True. I remember the point being well made in The Mythical Man-Month. Having said that, it is a measure that can be grasped easily and equated to costs incurred by the business.
    – user27483
    Apr 3, 2018 at 11:21
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    But that's exactly what I'm trying to say, that it's not easy to grasp the actual cost incurred by the business. Starting a conversation from that point is going to be a failure. Although companies still haven't adapted to it, the conversation should be about is the employee achieving the goals set for them and are those goals realistic, too pessimistic or too optimistic. If the employee then says "well I lose a lot of time to X", only then can you argue that perhaps they should spend more time in the office. Asking them to keep a seat warm for 8+ hours a day can come across as silly.
    – Cronax
    Apr 3, 2018 at 11:25
  • @WorkerWithoutACause Thank you very much for the answer. I select your answer because it covers all my needs. I vote for you and Fattie since I need all of your answers.
    – Sam
    Apr 3, 2018 at 12:11
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Just fire him.

Regarding the finger pointing, say

"John, you are pointing your finger at me. Be sure to never do that again. Is that clear?

That seems to be the language you need.

"Is it considered rude?" - yes, it is incredibly rude, indeed bizarre.

Every single time he does it, loudly and openly tell him to stop.

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    I voted your answer. But WorkerWithoutACause's answer covers all of my needs.
    – Sam
    Apr 3, 2018 at 12:12
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    That's actually a great suggestion for putting an end to that behavior.
    – AndreiROM
    Apr 3, 2018 at 14:14
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    Well, considering the total lack of usefulness of the employee, I'd rather use the finger pointing as a way to get rid of him. Solving this specific problem would be nice to the OP, but does not take care of the elephant in the room : this personal is a liability to the team, not an asset. Productivity would be higher without him.
    – gazzz0x2z
    Apr 3, 2018 at 14:47
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    As it says "Just fire him" - first sentence :)
    – Fattie
    Apr 3, 2018 at 14:50

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