Survey Reveals Most Annoying Terms and Phrases in the Workplace

Companies claiming to create “synergies” in an effort to develop a “value-added” “paradigm” that leads to new “solutions” may want to be strategic in another way: not going overboard with cliché phrases and industry jargon. According to a recent survey, terms such as these are among the most overused in the workplace.

The poll of about 150 senior executives of some 1000 big US companies conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Accountemps provides some interesting input into the jargon overload – and I think its valid here in Europe as well. Executives were asked, “What is the most annoying or overused phrase or buzzword in the workplace today?” Their responses included:

• “At the end of the day”
• “Solution”
• “Thinking outside the box”
• “Synergy”
• “Paradigm”
• “Metrics”
• “Take it offline”
• “Redeployed people”
• “On the runway”
• “Win-win”
• “Value-added”
• “Get on the same page”
• “Customer centric”
• “Generation X”
• “Accountability management”
• “Core competency”
• “Alignment”
• “Incremental”

“Buzzwords and industry jargon are a form of shorthand used by people within a particular company or profession, but they can be confusing or even seem exclusionary to individuals outside of that field,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. “When these words are overused, they can lose their impact altogether.”

Part of the motivation to use buzzwords can be attributed to a desire to demonstrate your expertise, but this can often backfire. Added Messmer, “Even though the terms you use may be clear to you, other people must understand them if you hope to communicate your point effectively. For instance, instead of saying a project was a ‘win-win,’ explain why it was successful.” As society and pop culture evolve, old catchphrases die out, while new jargon is born. Following are some examples of currently popular buzzwords and their meanings:

• Watercooler games n. — coworker discussions
• Smell test n. — determining the potential success of a product; formerly “run it up the flag pole”
• Critical path n. — determining the appropriate steps to take
• Low-hanging fruit n. — easy opportunities for new business
• Bandwidth n. — the amount of time and resources needed for a project
• Download v. — assess the facts of a particular situation
• Brain dump n. — providing all of the information; typically given when someone is handing over an initiative or preparing
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Some other overused jargons that I have heard are:

• “Best-in-class”
• “Best of Breed”
• “Offload”
• “Seamless”
• “Ramp up”
• “Mission-critical”
• “Scalable”
• “Bleeding edge”
• “Frictionless”
• “World Class”
• "Optimise"
• "Peak performance"
• "Breakthrough"
• "High value added"
• "Paradigm, mindset, and Definition of Success"
• "High impact"
• "Alignment"
• "Capacity"

I think it is time to check out John Walston’s site, BuzzWhack – a site dedicated to de-mystifying buzz-words. He uses good-natured humor to nail down those companies and individuals who use buzzwords to impress and distract the rest of us.

You can read more about the survey at Accountemps website.