When you talk with your coworkers about the latest workplace trends or listen to
news stories, you're going to hear an endless list of corporate jargon.
For example, hustle culture, digital nomad, and desk bomber.
If you've ever felt lost with that kind of language,
you're definitely not alone. In fact,
several months ago I did my very first lesson on the topic of corporate jargon
and buzzwords.
Here are just two of many comments I received on that lesson.
I've heard some of these phrases at work, but I didn't know the meaning.
I get it now I,
it explains a lot about why I felt so lost when I started working here in
Canada. I hear those expressions every day, but now after watching your video,
I feel more confident to use them when necessary. On top of all that,
a recent Business Insider article highlighted research from the UK
indicating that young professionals,
particularly those just now entering the workplace,
feel confused and left out by workplace jargon.
I want you to know exactly what is said in the conversations happening around
you, and I want you to be able to participate as well in this Confident English
lesson today.
You'll learn 13 examples of corporate jargon trending online and
in the news today,
so you can understand the conversations happening around you in English and
participate with confidence.
But first, if you don't already know, I am Annemarie,
an English fluency and confidence coach.
Everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your
life and work in English. With this vocabulary-packed lesson,
not only will I include the definition of these 13 examples of corporate jargon,
but I'll also include example sentences so you can see how this language is used
in context. Now,
I mentioned that I have a lesson from several months ago with a focus on
corporate jargon, and just in case you haven't seen it,
I'll leave a link down below and I want to do a quick recap on what
corporate jargon is and why it's used corporate jargon,
also known as corporate speak,
is industry-specific language used by those who belong to
a specific industry or the corporate world in general.
And this may include specialized terms, phrases, acronyms, and so on.
When it's used correctly,
corporate jargon can be used as a kind of shorthand to allow professionals to
communicate on complex ideas and topics very quickly and with clarity.
As a result, corporate jargon can actually save time.
It eliminates the need for these lengthy explanations because everyone
within that industry understands that specific jargon.
And because corporate jargon is used among members of a group,
it can also create a sense of belonging. However,
there are some downsides to corporate jargon as well. When overused,
it sounds disruptive and meaningless,
and just as it creates a sense of belonging for those who are in a particular
group or industry,
it can also create barriers to understanding for those who are new to that
particular group or outside of it.
For effective professional communication in English,
it's best to use jargon sparingly and balance it with plain,
simple language. With that in mind,
let's take a look at these 13 examples of trending corporate jargon.
To better organize this lesson, I've divided these examples into two categories.
Category number one, corporate jargon used to describe others.
And category number two,
corporate jargon used to describe different work styles when working
with others.
Jargon can help you accurately and quickly describe the kind of colleagues or
upper level management you have.
And our first example of trending corporate jargon is corporate villain.
A corporate villain is someone who prioritizes work-life balance
over their work responsibilities. In other words,
they're likely to set stricter work boundaries and make sure that
they're able to prioritize their own mental health and wellbeing.
And here's an example sentence. Last year,
generation Z declared they would be corporate villains and not work
outside of conventional work hours.
An interesting note on this example of workplace jargon is in late
2022,
there was a significant spike in corporate villain-related content
as a result in the post-pandemic shift of workplace
expectations and the rolling recession.
Our second example of corporate jargon for describing others is work,
wife, work, husband or work spouse.
This is someone who platonically not romantically,
provides you with comradery and emotional support in the workplace.
It's also someone with whom you have a very strong close relationship.
And an example sentence, my work wife and I started working at this company.
At the same time, we easily understand what the other person is thinking.
In addition to hearing work, wife, work, husband and work spouse,
you might also hear work, mom, work, dad,
or work bestie when talking about different relationships,
platonic relationships that we have at work.
Example number three is polymath.
A polymath is someone who has extensive knowledge or extensive expertise
in a variety of topics.
This is opposed to someone who's more of a generalist with just a little bit of
knowledge in a variety of areas. And here's an example.
Christina is a total polymath.
She knows the industry inside out and always has answers to your
questions. Number four on our list today is desk bomber.
This is someone who unexpectedly approaches your desk for
unscheduled conversations. And of course, if this happens regularly,
it can be rather disruptive and hears how it can be used in an example sentence.
I work from home when I really need to focus because I don't know when a desk
bomber will interfere with my train of thought.
Number five on our list has been trending for quite a while. Digital nomad.
A digital nomad is someone who works remotely and regularly moves from place to
place,
whether it's for travel or to temporary live in different locations.
For example,
my dream is to be a digital nomad who lives on a tropical island six
months out of the year. Number six, work influencer.
If you've ever heard the term social influencer,
you might have a good idea of what this example of corporate jargon means.
A work flu is a social media influencer who regularly shares
work-related content. And here's an example sentence I follow.
A few work flus on Instagram.
Their posts are so funny and relatable.
Number seven on our list of corporate jargon to describe others is talent
debt. Rather than describe an individual,
this example of jargon describes a group of disengaged or
even unproductive and employees.
This is often a group of employees that an employer fought to keep,
and yet now it is too expensive to keep this group of
disengaged employees.
An example sentence for this one might be low motivation is creating
talent debt. In the marketing department with this example of jargon,
I highlighted that it's commonly used to describe employees who are
disengaged or unproductive.
It can also be used to describe those who are underdeveloped,
poor performers or burnt out.
And our last example for jargon to describe others is social loafer.
This is a psychological term used to describe someone who tends to be
less productive when working in a group versus working alone.
In other words, when they're part of a group,
they might be perceived as unproductive, and yet when they work alone,
they're very focused and productive. And here's an example sentence.
Sometimes I don't go into the office because I don't want to turn into a social
loafer who chats all day and doesn't get any work done.
And now let's switch to category number two focused on corporate jargon we can
use to describe various work styles. Over the past few years,
there have been significant shifts in workplace culture,
and here are a few examples of jargon currently trending when talking about
what's happening in the workplace and how we work.
The first is chaotic working. The meaning of this one might surprise you.
It isn't used to describe someone who's multitasking,
but rather it describes someone who's regularly handing out
freebies or discounts without explicit approval to do so.
For example,
if you work for a company where you get a employee discount when you
purchase products or services from your company,
if you start to give that employee discount to others without
the approval to do so, that would be described as chaotic working.
Here's an example sentence.
The previous manager was known for chaotic working and it caused some problems
with hr.
Our second example for this list is grind culture or hustle culture.
This is used to describe a mindset and lifestyle of
relentless hard work and constant productivity,
and it's most often associated with the idea that hard work is equal to
success and gaining wealth. An example sentence might include,
after the pandemic,
many corporate workers rejected hustle culture and started to prioritize
their mental health and wellbeing.
Number 11 on our list of corporate jargon is purpose driven.
This is used to describe one's purpose, values,
or morals at the very forefront of every decision or change
that is made. And you could use it in an example sentence such as,
I prefer to work in a purpose-driven environment as opposed to one that is
focused solely on sales. Next,
on the list proximity bias.
This is used to describe the tendency of corporate leadership to favor
in-office employees and view remote workers as less committed
or less hardworking.
And an example sentence due to proximity bias in office
employees were more likely to be promoted at work.
I have a couple of questions I'm going to ask you so that you can practice the
corporate jargon you've learned here today. But before I do that,
I have one more example I want to share with you. Career cushioning.
This means to be proactive about your career prospects in case anything
with your current job goes wrong. In other words,
you have a plan B.
This doesn't mean that you're actively looking for other work,
but you are keeping your options open. For example,
perhaps you subscribe to an email newsletter that highlights new job
opportunities in your career field,
or maybe you're taking a training program to keep your resume up to date.
And here's a great example sentence for this particular jargon.
Fiona is low key career cushioning since they're laying off
employees. And now I have two questions for you. Number one,
I want you to practice take two or three of the examples you've learned in this
lesson today and create your own example sentences.
You can use my examples to help you do that.
I recommend you choose examples of jargon you hear in your work environment
so that you can use them easily in your English conversations. As always,
after you create your example sentences,
you can share them with me in the comments below.
And my second question for you is,
are there examples of corporate jargon I didn't highlight today that
you regularly hear where you work? If so, share those with me below.
I'd love to help you understand exactly what they mean and give you examples of
how to use them. With that,
thank you so much for watching this Confident English lesson today.
I hope you found it helpful,
and I appreciate the fact that you've given this lesson a thumbs up and
subscribed to this channel. I'll see you in my next lesson.