Changing Names

[tasha_cd]

I was curious

I've just started transistioning so I still look like a bloke, Short Hair, clean shaven but still have the dark shadow. I am a bus driver and wear a uniform which is excally the same for both men and women (no imagination on management behalf) and I hope to continue working for this company as I both like what I do and the staff and other drivers there.

What I wanted to know is other what other girls did about changing their name at work. The people you work with, when did you tell them to call you something else and did you change it legally straight away or were you just known by that name for a while before anything offical.

Tash

[Cathii]

Hi Tash

I work for a large government department and so the way I went about it may not suit you. Perhaps though you might like to take some ideas from what I did and apply it to your situation.

The first thing I did was talk to my union and get the exact legal position I would be in. Even though I have never needed it, their advise was wonderful and well worth having. They made me aware of state and federal law which might effect me and also specific parts of my work contract that might have a bearing on my circumstance. They even offered to send a rep to come with me when I spoke to management.

The second thing I did was arrange a meeting with my immediate manager and her manager where I outlined what was going to happen. I made it clear to them that this was not a secret and if they felt they needed to talk to anyone else they thought would need to know then they should do so. As it turned out they only informed the Director General (the head of the department) and the head of Human Resource. I also gave them links to various websites that might help them understand and also the contact numbers of the union rep for LGBT concerns and also for an FtM transsexual that had transitioned in another department a few years ago (both these people had given their consent for this).

Then I legally changed my name and sent an email to all staff outlining very briefly what was about to happen. I also included a link to my private website which was open only to members of the department (I gave them a special log in which would give them access to it) in which I tried to answer some of the questions I thought they might want to ask and inviting them to ask more questions if they wanted to. A copy of the web page (minus the comments and questions) is now publicly available on my website at http://cathii.is-a-geek.com/an-open-letter-to-dafwa-staff-3.html

Then all I did was follow through! I sent out the email on the 18th of December and on the 2nd of January I returned to work after the Christmas break as Cathii and haven't looked back.

The response I got was overwhelmingly positive. I received nearly 150 emails in first hour after sending out my email. In total around 200 people responded directly to me via email (some of whom I didn't even know!) and not one of those responses was negative. All up I had another 40ish comments on the web page and I repined to each one of those individually. As I had made it possible to make an anonymous comment, I expected all the negative responses to come here, and yet there was only one negative comment.

I have run into a small number of people that are not comfortable with my transition, but none of them have caused any problems.

In April, just 4 months after going full time, I found myself being offered a position within the department that would mean I was solely responsible for a multi-million dollar project, and in July I will have 3 staff under my direct management. In short, I was promoted!

What most people have said to me since, is that it was my honesty they appreciated the most. I didn't try to hide anything and I answered every question no matter how personal it got. I opened myself up and gave everybody a chance to have their say, be it positive or negative, and allowed them to do so with absolutely no recriminations at all. I think those things above all else have made my transition at work so much easier.

Like I said, this may not be an appropriate way for you in your situation, but I hope you can take some ideas from this and make them work for you. After all, the way I went about things is simply a bunch of ideas that other people that had transitioned had given to me. Nothing in my approach was original and I owe a debt of gratitude to those that so willingly gave me advise.

Cathii

[Baiken]

I changed my name this month, not to a female name, but to a forename that i was more comfortable with and that doesn't seem so common for a guy here...

I changed it also so that i could see what it would be like if i transitioned, so i'd already know who to contact, what to do etc etc if the time comes...

As for work and friends, They were calling me by my new name when they could for around 4-5 months. My Parent however refuses to call me by my new name (but she also refuses to accept the TS I think...).

As for changing your name and when to do it, I'd reccomend it's best to start a couple of days after you get paid (if you get paid monthly) as that gives you a good 3 weeks to contact everyone about the name change~

sorry my post was not of more help...
I may edit this after work, but i only have ten minutes left before i'm late for my bus~

[Eileen]

I applied for my present job as Eileen. Only the owner was told I am tg. Since then I have had my name legally changed. It was simple and only cost $130.00.

Eileen

[CaptLex]

Tasha,

I would say it depends on where you live. You sound like you're in the UK :idontknow: - if so, maybe some of our boys and girls there can give you some info.

[Kieron Andrew]

What I wanted to know is other what other girls did about changing their name at work. The people you work with, when did you tell them to call you something else and did you change it legally straight away or were you just known by that name for a while before anything offical.


Does the company you work for know you are transitioning?, if not thats the first step, actually talking to your manager or someone in higher ranks to let them know of your plans, then obviously from there they should work together with you to decide when is the best time and way to tell your colleagues and a suitable time to go full time at work, as for name change you can do that whenever you feel comfortable to do so, and then ask them to use your legal name when informing everyone that you will be fulltime from said time....

[tasha_cd]

Tasha,

I would say it depends on where you live. You sound like you're in the UK :idontknow: - if so, maybe some of our boys and girls there can give you some info.

No I'm downunder mate....
I live in Queensland (<- Go Figure ) Australia

[tasha_cd]

Oh and no know one knows that I transistinging except my wife and kids oh and my doctor, endo & councilor or course.

I've still to tell my mum and sisters, work & other friends. I was waiting to grow my hair a bit longer and wait until I started a bit of breast development before...

Who am I kidding !!!:doh:

I was hoping never to tell them. I am just trying to ingore that problem like every other problem I have. I guess thats why it' s important to see a counclior.