In mixed groups or groups of men I still seem to say guys and I don’t think it’s an issue, although now that it’s been brought to my attention a lot of times if it’s a work setting I might revert to “hey, how is everyone”.
One thing I noticed is that I’d probably feel off calling a group of female coworkers gals, so I tend to refer to them as women I work with.
Conversely though, I rarely refer to group of male coworkers as men I work with and would probably say “a couple of guys at work” or something.
Language is funny like that, and intent, tone, familiarity, and cultural background matter a lot too.
For instance I’d never call anyone honey at work, but when an older black woman would say something like “oh honey, we can’t do this like that” it was totally fine because it was quite clear that was just her lexicon and it wasn’t uncomfortable for anyone at all.
Life is full of ambiguities, generally if you have to ask “might this make someone uncomfortable?”, I generally just avoid it.
Which can be a bit tough for me sometimes, I definitely grew up and would pepper my speech with curse words as in “oh shit!” Or “holy fuck really?”, but I’ve learned to limit that a bit over time.
One thing I noticed is that I’d probably feel off calling a group of female coworkers gals, so I tend to refer to them as women I work with.
Conversely though, I rarely refer to group of male coworkers as men I work with and would probably say “a couple of guys at work” or something.
Language is funny like that, and intent, tone, familiarity, and cultural background matter a lot too.
For instance I’d never call anyone honey at work, but when an older black woman would say something like “oh honey, we can’t do this like that” it was totally fine because it was quite clear that was just her lexicon and it wasn’t uncomfortable for anyone at all.
Life is full of ambiguities, generally if you have to ask “might this make someone uncomfortable?”, I generally just avoid it.
Which can be a bit tough for me sometimes, I definitely grew up and would pepper my speech with curse words as in “oh shit!” Or “holy fuck really?”, but I’ve learned to limit that a bit over time.