‘At the end of the day’: Why corporate jargon can be annoying

Touch base with your workers and you may find that using corporate jargon at work isn’t always ideal, based on a recent report.

To some Canadians, using business lingo helps with understanding others (22%) and makes them think the speaker is knowledgeable (21%), finds Preply’s study.

However, it can also have a negative effect. Many say that using these terms: 

• makes communication feel less genuine (19%)
• makes them feel pressured to use jargon (15%)
• makes them annoyed (14%)
• makes them want to avoid jargon users (14%)
• makes them confused (13%)
• makes them feel excluded when terms are unfamiliar (12%)
• makes them disengage from the conversation (10%)

Employees across the world have had enough of corporate jargon and want them gone due to several disadvantages, according to a previous report from Duolingo and LinkedIn released in 2023. 

What is the nature of corporate jargon?

Nearly nine in 10 (88%) Canadians use corporate jargon expressions or buzzwords at work, according to Preply’s survey of over 1,000 Canadians conducted between Oct. 26 and 31, 2023.

Workers typically encounter it:

• when speaking with colleagues in person (30%)
• during internal meetings (18%)
• in emails (11%)
• during presentations (10%)
• in internal messages (7%)
• external meetings (e.g. with clients) (5%)
• in formal documents (4%)

Many job postings also contain some corporate jargon, according to a previous report.

The most used workplace slang are as follows:

1. Touch base
2. At the end of the day
3. Win-win
4. Circle back
5. Bottom line
6. It is what it is
7. Sus
8. Bet
9. Hit the ground running
10. Keep me in the loop

And while some workers use corporate slang with good intentions, that’s not always the case.

Many use it to save time by using shorthand or familiar terms (31%), to communicate better with colleagues (27%) and to express ideas more efficiently (26%), a quarter (25%) say these words just “to fit in”. 

Other insincere reasons to use these words are: 

• to mirror leadership’s language (17%)
• to seem more credible or professional (17%)
• to demonstrate industry expertise (16%)
• to sound intelligent (13%)
• to seem important (11%)
• to advance in one’s career (9%)

Using generic, cliche phrases take humanity out of interaction and can leave the recipient feeling isolated, said Kristin Cable, the communications manager for Dimensional Innovations, in a LinkedIn News report.

“If the messages don't sound like they're coming from a human, they sound kind of automated and cold, it can decrease the level of trust and the level of interest from employees and they just lack some engagement around the message,” Cable said.

The most annoying corporate jargon, according to Preply, are:

1. Ping you
2. Get [your] ducks in a row
3. Put a pin in it
4. Piggybacking
5. At the end of the day
6. Circle back
7. Above and beyond
8. Deep-dive
9. Low-hanging fruit
10. Bring to the table