The Royal We

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There are some jobs where we, us and our are synonymous with the department, office and the company. There are others where using we is forbidden. It all depends on your responsibilities and the company’s perspective.

Obviously if your job responsibilities are to speak on behalf of the firm, you should always use we. In this case, we is a collective point of view.

The most important way to figure out whether or not you work in a royal we office is to see how your supervisor handles the word. Does he use I when talking about his position and the company when talking about the firm? Or does he use we, us and our? As in “our resources” versus “the company’s resources.”

When employees use we it makes them feel connected, like they are a part of something bigger. If the company founder uses we in all of his speeches and correspondence with his employees, but no one else in the company uses we when talking about where they work, this cold be a red flag that the employees don’t feel a sense of ownership or that they have a voice.

2 thoughts on “The Royal We

  1. Good points. In my current company I think everyone uses “we”–I know I do, and did for my last company. To me it just seemed natural as a response to either a question from someone else or if I brought it up on my own, but I like the thought that it was because I felt connected, not just because it was a convenient way to talk about it.

    1. Becky,
      It seems like you are in a really positive environment, especially since as you put it using we comes naturally. Not to mention that everyone is using we, then you all are truly in it together.
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Aurora

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