In a professional setting, the "you" also bothers young people
In addition to age and language region, the preference for using "Du" or "Sie" depends primarily on the context, according to a new study by AXA. However, there are age differences in the reasons for not using the "Du" form of address. Younger people see being on first-name terms in a formal setting as unprofessional, older people as impolite.
Unsurprisingly, attitudes differ between age groups when it comes to the question of whether people should be on first-name terms or informal in communication between companies and private individuals. Younger people are generally more open to being on first-name terms than older people. The AXA study also confirms the regional differences in preferences: In German-speaking Switzerland, it is much more popular to be on first-name terms than in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
The setting is more important than the age
However, the strongest influencing factor on the personal attitude to using "Du" is not age, but the communication context. The setting should be collegial, informal and sporty so that the "you" is considered appropriate. In concrete terms, this means that just one in twenty people in a sports club would like to be on first-name terms, whereas one in five people at a take-away stand, almost one in two at a grocery store checkout and two thirds at a bank counter would.
(Image: www.axa.ch)
A sign of unprofessionalism
The youngest test group, 15- to 29-year-olds, in particular, reject the "Du", which has become established in more and more areas of life, as the seriousness of the context increases - they are significantly more likely than 30- to 70-year-olds to consider the "Du" to be unprofessional in more formal contexts. Older people reject the first name in professional contexts primarily for reasons of respect and see the first name as reserved for private and personal contexts. In general, only very few people - across all age groups - consider being on first-name terms to be intrusive or indecent.
In turn, there are clearer age differences in the general attitude towards the "Siez" culture. With increasing age, the proportion of people who consider the Siez culture to be outdated decreases. Across all respondents, just under a fifth consider the Siez culture to be outdated, while around a third are of the opposite opinion. An age effect is also evident when it comes to the question of whether it is considered indecent to be addressed by a younger person. Older people are clearly more bothered by this. On the other hand, the different generations agree that people should only be on first-name terms once the other person has offered to be on first-name terms.
Source: www.axa.ch
