Is this ok: national flag as wallpaper ?

Morpheus

I know a guy who has the Israeli flag as his desktop. His Girlfriend is Israeli, Is someone being too pc asking this guy to remove said wallpaper because it offends someone in the office, is it even allowed to demand he remove it?

Personally I dont know if its an overtly show of political opinion by him or just like having the WTC and a US flag on your desktop, or a pic of an Irish Air Corps aircraft with Tricolor on it??

Opinions and comments please.

subway

is it illegal to dsiplay a flag these days?
unless theres a law against it, swastikas in germany for example, you could be starting all sorts of trouble.
talk to hr about it - theyll say what you can and cant enforce with company policy.

presumably your afraid to ask him because the guys a bit of a muppet so id steer clear.
either that or check the company IT policy on pc personalisation and enforce it with EVERYONE - employees will love you

Bam Bam

I'd tell the person that says they're offended by it to piss off, then put thr Israeli flag as your background.

Its freedom baby!

leeroybrown

Tread carefully. You could end up with a situation where one has an Isreali flag and the other a Lebanese/Palestinian flag.

I voted no but if ultimately if it's causing tension it might have to go. Remember that typically harassment/bullying is defined from the point of view of the harassed/bullied party. If this person knows that the flag is causing offence and deliberately continues to display it then there could be an issue.

Running Bing

Well if the guys not israeli why does he have the flag? Lets face it if I displayed a palestinian flag on my computer it would mean one thing i.e. Im declaring my support for lebonon in a war. Nothing wrong with that but in an office environment I imagine things could get very messy. Seems to me like the fella is trying to make a statement and rile co-workers or is just an attention seeker. I cant see any other reason why youd need to declare your allegiance to a waring country so obviously at work. Im not saying people shouldnt have opinions but I just think thats unnecessary and I must admit I wouldnt like if I was a fellow employee. Wether thats foolish or not is not the point. The point is it causes disharmony at such a sensitive time.


The question you ask is all wrong though. It should be "Is it right to ask someone to remove a flag that isnt their own when said country is engaged in war"

seamus

If there's no corporate policy on such things, then I don't see any reason why someone should have to remove it. If someone else if offended by that flag, that's their problem.

As you point out, would someone be complaining if the guy had the tricolor or the US flag on their desktop?

eth0_

The guy is a tool!
His choice of wallpaper could be described as inflammatory in the current political situation. I would say your boss is perfectly entitled to ask him to remove it. I've heard of workplaces that ban *all* flags/football shirts/GAA shirts, "just in case".

eth0_

Bam Bam wrote:

I'd tell the person that says they're offended by it to piss off, then put thr Israeli flag as your background.

Its freedom baby!

If you can't make a sensible suggestion, don't post here, please.

subway

eth0_ wrote:

The guy is a tool!

thats your opinion.
if that was your reason for asking an employee to do something in work youd be in hot water fairly quick
"excuse me, can you change your wallpaper as your being a tool?"

eth0_ wrote:

His choice of wallpaper could be described as inflammatory in the current political situation.
I would say your boss is perfectly entitled to ask him to remove it.

who is it inflaming? under what grounds should he take it down.
he will have to back up hi reasoning for doing it

I've heard of workplaces that ban *all* flags/football shirts/GAA shirts, "just in case".

exaclty, it has to be a blanket ban, not just one person, then your singling him out and bullying him.

Newaglish

I think given the current situation it's actually a bit unprofessional, but it's him that it's going to reflect badly on, plus I doubt anyone really cares that much to have a huge argument over the Lebanon/Israel thing over the sake of a flag wallpaper? It'd obviously be different if you were working in a Lebanese office...!

TempestSabre

It would come down to whats allowed by company policy. No company policy then nothing much you can do. This is why places enforce things like locked down desktops and uniforms. Simply because these issues then don't arise and disrupt productivity.

Civilian_Target

I think I might know this guy...
Why not just tell him that its a bit inflamatory, tell him you can't and won't make him remove it, but would rather if he did. Most people are nice enough to do that...

[Jackass]

Technically, no.

You can have a flag as your wallpaper if you like, but, as with anything you may have displayed on your computer/desk/workspace that someone has objected to and/or finds offensive then take it away.

At the end of the day, if he wants to think of his girlfriend in work, then have a picture of her as his wallpaper (lol?) or one on his desk.

But no need to stir sh*t...it looks bad if you don't adhere to a simple request of a co-worker...if it's a job he cares about and wants to get ahead in, then deffenatly don't make a big deal and co-operate.

LundiMardi

Erm... it's a flag.. Are you forced to sit there an look at it? No? Well then get on with your own work and forget about it.

Nalz

LundiMardi wrote:

Erm... it's a flag.. Are you forced to sit there an look at it? No? Well then get on with your own work and forget about it.

....in a nutshell

the_syco

Erm: he may not know. I usually have a B2 Spirit on my desktop, doing a bombing run, or just sitting on the runway. Some may (somehow) find it offensive, but I think its cool (me loves military planes), but no-one ever said anything. If they did, I'd change it to a non-millitary photo.

Red Alert

I don't like Israel or the rhetoric of many of its supporters, but he's perfectly entitled to have his flag there if it's not against actual company policy.