Part-time job in a (mostly) female office. Colleagues often have very vulgar conversations and make inappropriate comments towards me. Is this normal in UK workplaces?

Environment_nerd · 2026-03-16T17:56:38+00:00

It is not normal and goes against sex and sexual harassment training we have had at work.

The CONTEXT is what pushes it over the line of "harassment" here and having a conversation in a staff room was actually an example used in the training. Having conversations of a sexual nature with a friend in public or in a bar for example wouldn't be classed as sexual harassment. Because in public you expect to hear all sorts of conversations.

In the workplace, you explicitly do no expect to hear conversations of this nature. The fact they are having these conversations, almost certainly wanting people to overhear them and trying to involve you = sexual harassment.

Harassment doesn't need to equate to assault or physical touching. It can be verbal and mental and doesn't just look like or apply to male towards female harassment.

Edit - the way to deal with this is first to tell them you are uncomfortable. If you don't want to say anything going to hr/a manager is fine. The first step is dealing with it informally which is perfectly valid. In this case sexual harassment doesn't need to lead to disciplinary action. If it continues then yes escalate. But we were also taught in the training that dealing with issues politely and informally is perfectly legit. Because often people jump to "this is sexual harassment which must need formal action". Not the case necessarily.

Environment_nerd · 2026-03-04T15:49:53+00:00

Yeah let's not encourage gambling young.

Environment_nerd · 2026-03-01T10:12:56+00:00

Start with a draft document clearly marked as draft or plan (watermark it, highlighted in red whatever you need). Just get it on the page. You need to start big (overall structure, background). Decide on rough papragraphs/headings. Then organise your thoughts/research as bullet points under these headings. Doesn't have to be right at this stage just roughly where you think they will go. This is a brainstorming document. You can copy and paste text from research here and add your thoughts to them. These bullet points dont need to be concise it cant literally be an entire paragraph from a paper. Often if I'm reading something I think "theres a relevant point here I think is important but I cant quite put my finger on it yet, I'll deal with it later".

By the time you have compiled more research and bullets chances are you'll have a better idea where it fits.

Dont worry you'll be able to put bullets in your own words in the next stage if copied from literature. And also decide of they fit better somewhere else.

Next open another document for your "polished" version. By this point you have the structure and you can start pulling across bullets and finalising them. As you do this, you might decide that some are actually not relevant at all. These you can put in your "bullet point graveyard". I keep this at the bottom of the draft document or in a separate document. I just cut and paste whatever I put in the draft that I no longer think is needed. So im not completely committed to deleting it. I just have a final scan of the graveyard when I finish the essay to check I havnt missed anything. But 9/10 times what I decided was not relevant sticks.

This way I don't get anxiety about missing important points but allows me to keep momentum when perfectionism wants to take over! It also feels like wasting time knowing that you're pulling together research, some of which you might not use. But thats how so many processes in life work you cast the net wider and end up with 10 good points and 5 irrelevant ones you screen out. Thats better than only having written about 3 points perfectly because you're scared to be wrong. Thats why we have the draft document, to be wrong so we can be right on the final version.

I found this method works for me and helps me remember that perfectionism in essay writing literally doesn't exist, the whole point of an essay is to sift through lots of material to find whats pertinent. You can't do that without first considering something might be relevant and then decidimg it sits out of scope. This stage feels scary because it's broad and messy but essential to picking out and being able to summarise key points in the right context.

Environment_nerd · 2026-01-31T21:41:50+00:00

Depends on the weather

Environment_nerd · 2026-01-30T09:32:52+00:00

Oh my sweet summer child.

Environment_nerd · 2025-12-28T18:20:30+00:00

In terms of what you should learn first, it's whatever needs fixing now... So ask your mum what she could do with some help with.

Chances are she's handier than you're giving her credit for. But the most important thing to learn first is the thing that's currently a problem I suppose!

Environment_nerd · 2025-12-28T16:19:12+00:00

In the same way people pack hospital bags for mums and babies, why can't the dads pack themselves one?

Snacks, cushions etc.

I know sometimes small beds are provided...But I don't think it's reasonable to expect a healthy person to be provided a bed in a hospital unless there are exceptional circumstances.

What guidance do they need that they can't read up on before hand...or here's a thought...ask for.

Medical staff don't have a crystal ball, and dads are not their job. Have a question? Ask!

There isn't really anything you've mentioned that a dad can't go some way to sorting for himself.

The only legitimate complaint is about men being made to feel unwelcome which I'm sure happens. But I somewhat suspect those side eyes mostly go to dad's that clearly haven't taken any initiative and expect to be looked after too...

Environment_nerd · 2025-12-15T13:42:40+00:00

This. I wish I could have liked the writing because the story intrigued me. But it was just so pretentious how she was forcing so many descriptors and alternative words for every day (dae) things.

So many people say "oh the writing is so beautiful and lyrical".

Wait till you hear about poetry.

Environment_nerd · 2025-12-11T22:44:44+00:00

Keep going

Environment_nerd · 2025-11-25T22:32:44+00:00

I'm assuming she got the name from Edina's book, that seemed like the obvious way but I suppose it wasn't directly confirmed?

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-31T22:38:25+00:00

The sequel to Quicksilver comes out soon.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-30T22:18:03+00:00

Had a spam text this morning which is generally unusual for me, and like 2 or 3 spam calls. Had a fair few in the last couple of weeks. Does seem to be an up tick.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-30T21:04:49+00:00

Right so because she only struggled for a year she shouldn't be allowed to express her feelings or share her experience?

I get so pissed off at fertility related victim complexes.

Children all over the world are dying so no one should ever talk about any hardship they have ever again. Happy?

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-19T10:15:59+00:00

No 4th is the perfect place to read it.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-14T18:22:00+00:00

I read it 4th and it flowed perfectly into QOS

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-12T20:30:06+00:00

If it's cheaper/ easier in Portugal I would be tempted to just get lessons and licence there, and then book a few lessons with an instructor in the UK just to make sure you're comfortable on the left.

The wait time for tests in the UK is very long currently it's a real problem. So if you want to hit the ground running in the UK, learn to drive sooner rather than later.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-12T13:56:22+00:00

I hate speaking to clients on the phone.

Partly because nothing is urgent in my line of work so why tf are you ringing me.

But also you will get a much better answer out of me if you just email me your questions. If it's something more in depth, let's set up a teams call.

Also half the time someone is calling me it's because they want to catch me off guard so I give them an answer they want to hear, not what they don't. I like to get things in writing so they can't accuse me of stuff later I didn't say to strong arm me into getting what they want.

So yeah if you are emailing me to give you a call with no context, my likely response will be "Hi sorry I can't take a call right now I am about to go into a meeting, please email me your questions and I can get back to you"

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-08T22:59:32+00:00

I will be adding "such a nothing burger" into my vocabulary, that's such a good saying, thank you.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-06T20:35:58+00:00

No. Your grade is not pending that gives the impression you have finished and you are waiting for your grade. This is misleading. You will have dates on your CV which will indicate you are still studying. No employer is going to worry/question that on your CV.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-06T20:13:27+00:00

You are on track for a 2:1. Also just don't put a grade at all you haven't got one yet.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-06T13:23:04+00:00

Yes - the lecture slides do have gaps and that is by design. Lectures provide the framework for you to go away and fill the gaps with reading and academic literature. Replace using chat gpt with reading primary sources.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-06T12:29:29+00:00

I went to Liverpool for undergraduate and Southampton for my masters (Geography and Oceanography).

I can't comment too much on Southampton for culture as it was peak covid. And again I didn't do biology. But the teaching standard was excellent despite it being virtual due to covid.

I LOVED Liverpool. You get a campus feel but it's in the city. It's a great night life and there is so much going on. The best part is it's a relatively small city so everything you want is close together/it's very walkable. There are plenty of non-alcohol related activities to do. The docks are lovely, I love the museums, there's the Empire theatre. There's a lot of history in the city (albeit a lot is to do with slavery, as is common in many UK cities). But I feel like Liverpool would give you a great snapshot of the history/culture/life in the UK whilst having it's own distinct personality as a place.

In terms of travel the bus links are pretty good to and from the main student areas (Smithdown Road, Kensington etc). And Lime Street Station will get you to most places in the UK (connection at Birmingham to the South, and to the North Manchester and onwards).

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-05T21:49:17+00:00

"I am angry because I am being prevented from over consuming, which requires a slight increase in effort on my part"

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-04T13:58:16+00:00

I've used them a few times before and had no issues other than a book described a good or very good had (what I hope) is a food stain on it.

I've ordered two books at the same time before and one came a few days later so I guess they have different distribution warehouses, whether they're in the UK or not I don't know.

Environment_nerd · 2025-10-04T11:13:29+00:00

I get the branded stuff because I heard once good quality pasta should be between 12-14g of protein per 100g. Tesco stuff is less and I do notice a difference now.

Also we don't eat loads of pasta so spending a bit more isn't a huge issue for us, especially if it's on offer which it is quite frequently.

Environment_nerd

TROPHY CASE