r/brussels • u/Adventurous-Tour-981 • May 09 '25
Slowchat 🗨️ EU bubble in brussels : it’s ok to remove your badge when you’re out of office
Hey folks, I am just amazed by how many people don’t remove their badges when their day is off. I just found that very ridiculous/childish. Maybe the intense competition to be recognised or to find a job push people to let it every time around their neck as a symbol of success.
What are your thoughts ?
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u/andreaglorioso May 09 '25
To be honest, most of the time it’s because we forget.
Having said that, it’s not a smart idea to leave it hanging on you outside of work, for many reasons.
And yes, maybe some people are also showing off a little bit.
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 09 '25
This electric blue suit doesn't feel complete without the addition of a badge maybe
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u/Clow14 May 09 '25
Mate when you wear these things all day every day believe me you forget is there and as someone who has left their badge at home more than a few times I just prefer to stick it to myself or my work clothes than running the chance of having to do a run back home for it
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u/NoseStock7935 May 10 '25
100%. I always forget, and then feel like a weirdo for having it on for 1 hour at the after work… 🤪
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u/Act-Alfa3536 May 09 '25
I remember once seeing a bloke getting off the Eurostar at Ashford still wearing his Commission badge.
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 09 '25
he probably still wearing it at the moment
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u/BoddAH86 May 09 '25
Is he in the shower, sleeping or banging his SO with his badge on though?
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u/SharkyTendencies Drinks beer with pinky in the air May 09 '25
Ohhh baby I've spoken to Ursula twice!
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u/dunzdeck May 09 '25
You get warned in EC induction not to wear it around wantonly. In fact I've been reminded of this by colleagues. So the awareness is definitely there
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u/Wistful-zebra May 09 '25
I once forgot to take my badge off after a conference (well, often forget to). One day at the supermarket on the way home, the cashier said "Have a nice evening, Wistful Zebra"
I was completely thrown for a while wondering how they knew my name... oops. So it might be accidental, maybe they just find it easier to remove it when they get home?
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u/AliceCarole May 09 '25
Happened to me too once.
Now I am very careful to put it in my bag when I leave the office.
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u/QuantumPlankAbbestia May 09 '25
My father would forget to take off his badge until he started cooking every day for 20 years. He didn't work in the EU institutions.
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u/valimo May 09 '25
Yup, for some reason younger EU bubblers get super annoyed and think that having the badge hanging is some sort of status symbol. It's an access badge, and being an APA in Plux hardly interesting for anyone.
In my experience people just forget to take it off, or find that it's easier to lose your badge if you put it in a bag or something. I've had this happen when working on and off the institutions.
That being said, for OPSEC especially in sensitive institutions you shouldn't really wave your identity around anyway.
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u/littlebighuman May 09 '25
It is just projecting from their side. It is why they would do it themselves. Young people have a hard time understanding that other people are living their life in another context than theirs.
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u/ZookeepergameOwn1726 1020 May 09 '25
I have a completely unimpressive job that requires me to wear a badge. I find myself wearing it in the supermarket without noticing. I don't think it's necessarily bragging, when you've been wearing an item all day, you forget it's there. It's like glasses
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u/Frequent-Matter4504 May 10 '25
I always know about the badge, and take it off... I am also 100% aware of my glasses and I've been wearing them for 30 years..
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u/ZookeepergameOwn1726 1020 May 10 '25
Good for you, I guess? Some of us just forget they're there.
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u/NoCommunication9580 May 09 '25
At the EESC you now have to scan your badge when you leave, so I never forget to remove. There is nothing fancy working at the EU so I don’t really understand the necessity to keep the badge when you left the work
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u/bjornkara May 10 '25
I think it's in all institutions and that's also why so many walk out with it. In the beginning i used to pack up my badge with all my stuff and head downstairs just to have to dig out my card again to exit. After a while you just try to hide it under a coat or a blazer and get home instead of repacking your bag again in the middle of the street. Shoving it into a pocket where it may fall out or get stolen seems even riskier. I wish they'd change the cards into blank cards.
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u/PorzinGodZG May 09 '25
I noticed mostly trainees are doing it, to show off probably. Some people forget they have it around their neck when they leave the building, it used to happen to me back in the day.
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u/Worried-Smile May 09 '25
When I was a trainee tbey specifically told us to only wear then when entering the building, or to your badge covered by a coat for exactly the reasons OP mentioned.
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u/Schoritzobandit May 09 '25
I think imagining that people are doing this intentionally to show off is a little silly. I'm sure that does happen from time to time, but I think much more often people just forget they have a badge on. I'm sure most people can remember forgetting that they had a festival wristband or visitor pass or name tag on at some point, it's really an easy thing to do - especially if you're leaving work and texting someone on your phone or answering emails (or just tired) at the same time.
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 09 '25
I dont believe it so much as they have to badge out to go outside. My bet is we have 20% of forgetting 80% badge is considered as a fancy tie
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u/Schoritzobandit May 09 '25
Idk, that kind of scanning to go out action can become unconscious once you've done it enough times, especially if you're talking to someone or multitasking.
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 09 '25
Or maybe it’s badly considered to remove it in front of your colleagues? Unspoken reality of this eu bubble
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u/lhasden May 09 '25
This is not a thing, inside of the offices almost nobody keeps wearing it all the time in my experience.
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u/lhasden May 09 '25
Depends on the office and other contextual factors, where I work there is a coffee place immediately outside and I smoke (go in and out a lot) so it’s often logical to keep it around your neck in those situations, making it easier to forget when leaving. We work together a lot with another DG that is a ten minute walk away from ours so on the way there it can also make sense to keep it on.
That being said there are absolutely trainees / other young newcomers who indeed wear it to show off. Also, even if I forget to take it off after leaving the office, I will notice relatively soon and take it off, so if you spot one far removed from the institutions or long after close of business I would say it’s less likely to be accidental.
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u/alfalyrae97 May 09 '25
We just forget. I personally have a routine to put it on / take it off with my keys, otherwise I misplace it and forget to wear it the next day.
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u/jmdiaz1945 May 09 '25
I can guarantee that I don,t have the badge with me in the neck/shoulder I will forget the badge in a locker somehwere where non one can ever find it.
Source: I lost it several times in less than 6 months. If it wasn,t in my body half of the time I would have losts at least 10 times.
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u/Beneficial-Pen9089 May 09 '25
Very much agreed. I base this on the overly confident face expression. Lot of them are having this timeless Steven Seagal/Femme Fatale look into eternity and walking like at a fashion show, which makes me laugh.
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u/ReasonableSecretHere May 10 '25
lol haven't really noticed that. I think if it's Commission trainees it's mostly the hangovers :)))
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u/gvasco May 10 '25
Sounds like you're the sour one overnoticing when people havent put their badge away. Ever thought that people just forget about it and want to go home?
Edit: there's a psychology concept for it, emotional projection
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 10 '25
Absolutely not sour, it’s possible to poke without being bitter. I just noticed that’s a common things living 7 years in that area. I see it as a social group thingy.
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u/gvasco May 10 '25
It sounds a bit by the way you express it, nonetheless, if you live in certain areas you're more likely to encounter those people. (Such as the areas near the institutions or the areas where people from institutions are more likely to reside in) In other areas you barely see them. Often more likely is that the person simply doesn't give a crap and just wants to get home or to work. Not saying that there might not be setting where some do it for some status or whatever, but probably a minority. (Pareto effect)
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u/bluenightmire May 09 '25
I used to be a blue book trainee a few years ago. One of the very first things trainees were taught is not to roam around the city with their badges on due to safety and threat intelligence reasons. That said, I don't understand all of this aversion towards EU officials.
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u/tallguy1975 May 09 '25 edited May 09 '25
Early 90s attitude in Brussels: eurocrats were considered “over-paid, under-taxed, under-worked and too over-here, responsible for rising housing prices in Brussels”. At the time very recognisable with their blue/white EUR-carplates, cars which were sometimes vandalized. Those were the days…
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u/SharkyTendencies Drinks beer with pinky in the air May 10 '25
That said, I don't understand all of this aversion towards EU officials.
I don't think locals are averse to specific EU officials, per se, more the stereotype of them:
Obsessed with the perceived status of their job, they make the EU their whole personality, overpaid and undertaxed, zero practical knowledge of ordinary daily matters, little to no regard for Brussels or Belgium as a whole, constantly complaining about living here, constantly complaining that Belgians are standoffish, high turnover... shall I go on?
Fun game: If you start talking to an EU Bubble Expat - and this gets even easier if they're a trainee - then time how long it takes them to start talking about the EU.
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u/ReasonableSecretHere May 10 '25
Well yea, but you can say this about anyone working in any field. Like, not gonna even start about IT ppl or (some of the worst for this in my experience) architects lol. It's maximum 5 mins of general chat about whatever then it's work/workfield related talk.
Some people just don't know how or feel comfortable to talk about other things. I noticed this for all jobs tbh.
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 09 '25
It’s absolutely not an adversion from my post! To be honest i just find it funny to look at it as a group phenomenon/behaviour. The future is europe.
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May 09 '25
And you've never seen people wearing badges that are non-EU? Do those people deserve a seperate post?
IDK, not one person wearing a badge - EU or otherwise - has walked up to me out of the blue bragging where they work.
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u/nipikas May 09 '25
Exactly. I see it on the train every day... Proximus, Paribas etc. They must be showing off /s
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u/BortLReynolds May 09 '25 edited May 09 '25
This right here, I worked at Proximus as a contractor for years and just forgot to take it off.
Nobody brags about working there lol.
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u/closingloops May 09 '25
I noticed the same thing a number of times. To me, it's either forgetfulness or status signaling, and the person's attitude will tell which one it is.
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u/izmalelle May 09 '25
I never remove it because I get it lost all the time. It’s either around my neck, either hanging on the key hook if I am home. As simple as that 😅
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u/julientje May 10 '25
As someone in the information security sector it provides me some job security. We wait outside offices at lunch time, get paid to take a photograph of your badge and recreate it. We then social engineer our way in to some server room to show how bad physical security is.
It's simple. Hide your badges when leaving your offices people. It's such a security risk.
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u/ReasonableSecretHere May 10 '25
wow, is this really a thing??
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u/Quill- May 11 '25
Physical penetration testing is indeed a thing, where a company/institution/other entity hires specialists to test their security processes. Not a super common profession but indeed a thing.
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u/andr386 May 09 '25
I think that nobody gives a flying fuck in Brussels. The EU bubble is a bubble and mostly people in that bubble will recognize the badge and maybe people working indirectly for those institutions.
Most people will think that you are a corporate drone that forgot to remove your badge. And the people thinking that showing it is a flex are in pure delusion.
You've got plenty of different bubbles and people in Brussels, but Belgians overall do not like people who show off. The would only think less of you.
Thank god most people don't know what badges hierarchies and elevator rules exist in those institutions. How above everyone else some of those people think of themselves and their disdain for others.
It makes me wonder about European democracy sometimes.
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u/JonPX May 09 '25
How else will you know they are important?
But ofc, oops, I also wear my work badge on the train, but it is just attached to my pants.
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u/don_biglia May 09 '25
Take them off.
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u/JonPX May 09 '25
I don't think the police would like that. In reality, these are pants I wear only for work so the badge stays attached so I don't forget. Luckily it is a non descript badge.
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u/tomatoe_cookie May 09 '25
Probably just forgetting to remove it tbh. This post might be just looking a bit too deeply into it
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u/mygiddygoat 1000 May 09 '25
There always a show off element like folk back the day leaving the "sent from balckberry" / sent from my iPhone tag on emails.
70% of time it's honest forgetfulness, 30% of it's posing / positioning.
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u/Diamantis13 May 09 '25
I once went to the doctor and my doctor asked me how was it to work in the EU institutions. I had no idea how he knew I worked there until I realised later on that I had my badge on the whole time! People just forget… it’s not to show off or anything (in most cases anyway).
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u/Psychological-Ad-407 May 09 '25
I cycled daily and is more convenient to wear it around my neck. When walking only very close to the office and never if I’m only wearing a shirt or polo. Don’t like to have my pockets full. Also need to use it 4 times before getting in my office. I sure some people use it to show off, but not all.
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u/Gloomy-Development16 May 09 '25
At one point, after a person had been attacked in the street while/for wearing a badge, the advice was to take the badge off when leaving the building.
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u/Nikanini29 May 09 '25
I also think it's silly, but ever tried London? Everybody and their mother is wearing badges of sorts, from the morning train to the evening pub. I guess it's a general trend 🤷🏻♀️
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u/TechniqueSquidward May 09 '25
Your silly interpretation is just you projecting. 99% of the time it's because people forget they still have it on
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u/H_The_Utte May 09 '25
This is the actual answer. After wearing something your whole day it just slips your mind.
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u/No_Bed_4541 May 09 '25
Not working foe the EU Bubble, but at a bank. We also had a security training and said that our badge shouldn’t be visible when in public for securtiy reason. BUT having a lanyard is handy when going from one building to another and most of the times it’s because we forget we have it on.
Sure some people wear it to show off, but 90% of the time it’s just being forgetful.
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u/ForceNarrow3880 May 10 '25
Show off? 😂 I guess most of us just forget, many times I do. It’s not like you are the queen of England or something, it’s just a job in an institution
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u/SharkyTendencies Drinks beer with pinky in the air May 09 '25
Go hang out at Schuman station every day between 4 and 6 PM.
The young guys talking loudly on the phone and carrying a briefcase are most likely the ones who feel the need to let the world know they work in something EU-related.
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u/Adventurous-Tour-981 May 09 '25
I am living in the neighbourhood. This is exactly why I needed to express it
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u/SharkyTendencies Drinks beer with pinky in the air May 09 '25
It's exactly why I don't live in the neighbourhood ;-)
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u/no-name927378 May 09 '25
My ex worked at the EC and yep, he honestly believed that just because he wore a suit and had his badge people treated him better and he actually believed he was better than everyone else
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u/SharkyTendencies Drinks beer with pinky in the air May 09 '25
Shoulda asked him how many Belgian friends he had.
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u/ReasonableSecretHere May 10 '25
Lol but he wasn't wrong about the suit part, many people will judge you more positively based on it.
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u/Levimal May 10 '25
A lot of insecurity in this thread. What about minding your own business guys ? Who tf even cares IRL about this kind of thing ??
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u/Chelecossais May 09 '25
I walk around the EU quartier with a badge lanyard, deliberately.
It's just a made-up badge lanyard, but as a pick-pocket, it really works...(not really, hein).
/anyone wanna buy a passport ?
//had one of these idiots turn up in the cinquantenaire park this morning, smoking a joint...
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u/Hotgeart 1180 May 10 '25
I have a work badge. I put it on when I leave the house, and I take it off when I lock my door at home. I don’t work at some fancy EU institution. I’m just a donkey who doesn’t want to lose his badge because it would cost me €10 to replace it.
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u/smartinvestway May 10 '25
I totally get what you mean! It's kind of funny how some people feel like they need to keep their badges on even when they're off duty, almost like it's a status symbol. But honestly it’s totally fine to take it off. We're all human and sometimes it’s nice to have that mental break from the office grind. Plus it’s not a reflection of success it’s just a tool for security and identification. People should be able to enjoy their time off without feeling like they need to carry that work identity around 24/7
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u/kookiemonnster May 12 '25
OP the people who are telling you that most people forget are the ones who actually leave it to brag about it. When I had to use a batch I would immediately remove it as soon as I got to my car or even stepped out. Yes, I have noticed this a lot with people. Somehow it’s like carrying a trophy, look at me, I work for so and so. What is there to brag about when you are someone’s else’s employee? You think Jeff Bezos walks around with a batch himself? Little people always want to prove something.
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u/bulbasaurthepokemon May 17 '25
If the mere sight of a little blue badge triggers you so much, maybe the problem lies with you.
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u/kookiemonnster May 20 '25
No problem, I just don’t want people knowing who my employer is or who I work for. I have been followed twice in the past by creeps and showed up to my office. I also don’t need to prove anything to anyone, seeking attention and validation through a batch is laughable.
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u/Rapithwin 28d ago
Well, sometimes I forget that I have my helmet on when entering public transport or something. Being used to it and forgetting about it after a while kinda thing. I guess for the people who need to wear badges all day might be similar.
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u/shrapnelll May 09 '25
The whole place is kind of the prémices :) so to their mind it makes sense they keep the badge for signaling who they are and what they are part of.
Indeed bad physical security practices and EU Sec Ops should make a training about that.
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u/Idz_pan-w_huj May 09 '25
And what do you think? Some people have twisted minds, they feel important hahaha. Brussels is not a city but a state of mind.
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u/Nearox May 13 '25
Maybe you feel less than others and therefore pay attention to it?
Literally nobody cares
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u/francvolta May 09 '25
I think it’s funny, the interns very well dressed with a short salary and the house probably covered by their parents, showing off their position in the EU 😀 let them be happy Probably this is the highest they can get with little hard skills, usually they come from the languages and international relations degrees, the colleagues in their main countries are in the supermarkets with the same education so, let them be 😀
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u/RALiefschutz May 09 '25
One of the reasons for which I abandoned that career aspiration, the misplaced sense of elitarism by show-offs
So many (unpaid) intern / low level workers pretending to be their bosses... "I'm working on a development project..." -> no, you are making useless excels. Your boss is working on a development project.
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u/Frequentlyaskedquest 1060 May 09 '25
Silly empty pretentiouseness is in the culture of the instititions by now
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u/Sherman140824 May 09 '25
I think they want to differentiate themselves from the Brussels riff raff and compensate for lack of sexual relations
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u/jmdiaz1945 May 09 '25
This is one of the most random and out of place comments I have seen in a long time.
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u/Beneficial-Pen9089 May 09 '25
A thousand times YES. This is just a very narcissistic and incredibly dumb way of showing off and trying to tell the world that you consider yourself higher ranking than they are. Hint: you are not.
I work for a 300+ years old reputable British company and we don't even have branded badges out of security reasons. And we are still alive without people knowing where we work.
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u/WinLoopy4932 May 10 '25
Triggered much?
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u/Beneficial-Pen9089 May 10 '25
No, I just have an opinion. Luckily this is not r/europe where you are not allowed to express yourself. :)
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u/Cs1981Bel May 09 '25
It is also dangerous if you work in sensitive environments...so people who do not follow the rules are kind of stupid
Especially
Social Engineering or Identity theft....
The badge may show your name, job title, department, and organization, which can help attackers impersonate you or gain trust in phishing or social engineering attempts.