Despite its complexity, the English language does not afford many options for how subordinates might address supervisors in the workplace. Calling bosses by their first names strikes a tone that many find too familiar, and adding a title (Mr., Mrs., Doctor, or Professor) may seem stilted and too deferential. What appears to be evolving as a comfortable compromise is a strategy known as “name avoidance”, where workers do not use any form of address in speaking to supervisors.
Whether men or women resort to name-avoidance equally often was investigated in a study (122) where seventy-four subjects (forty-nine men and twenty-five women)—all full-time employees—were asked the following question:
“If you were to encounter your boss’s boss in a hall near your office tomorrow, what do you estimate to be the likelihood of your employing avoidance as an address strategy?”
Responses were given on a 5-point scale, with 1 meaning “very unlikely” and 5 meaning “very likely.” The table below gives the sample means and sample standard deviations for the forty-nine men and twenty-five women.

Is the difference between 2.41 and 3.00 statistically significant? Set up and test an appropriateH₀ vs.H₁. Use a 0.05 level of significance.

Males n = 49 x = 2.41 Sx = 0.96 Females m = 25 y = 3.00 SY = 1.02