Closing the loop… Don’t try to boil the ocean… Let’s unlock new synergies…

What. On. Earth.

I can feel, as you’re reading this, a little painful cringe happening deep inside. If you work in an office, this is almost certainly language you know well. Corporate-isms are really taking over. Take 20 seconds. Have you heard or used one today? Done a deep dive? Moved the needle? Realigned for efficiencies?

No judgement. Because it’s not just inside the office either. According to a recent study by SMARTY, a corporate-nonsense-phrase slips out an average of nine times a week in everyday life (ATV).

Even more hilariously, one in ten of us admit to having used work jargon on dates.  How do you make a bad date worse? Someone ‘just flagging’ issues with how you’ve split the bill perhaps. Even worse, they then try to ‘circle back’ for a kiss on what was very clearly a friend-zoning hug – SWERVE!

Ok, so this language is seeping into the everyday – so what? It’s quite funny. However, it also reflects the sheer amount it’s being used inside the office. Parroting language doesn’t come from nowhere.

And all this corporate jargon isn’t harmless. It could be seriously disrupting the actual communication and understanding happening in offices every day. For example, according to the same SMARTY survey 90% of these 2000 British workers have felt confused by corporate speak on a DAILY basis.

Think about how much miscommunication, and wasted time, that represents.

There’s also a deeper problem. A study by Cornell University finding that ‘workers most excited and impressed by corporate speak may be the least equipped to make effective, practical business decisions’ (Guardian).

These vague, specious sayings create cover for a lack of clarity, for missing information, for not really knowing what you’re talking about.

Ultimately, ‘it can leave companies with dysfunctional leaders’ (Guardian). In other words, emptiness breeds emptiness.

From bullsh*tting to impact on work culture.

It’s not just about what people are or aren’t saying though. Corporate jargon also gives off a feeling. A vibe. That cringe feeling you get when you read “quick win”? Welcome to the room the corporate ick.

People, Gen Z especially, are getting ‘icked’ out by the corporate world. To Alex Lovell, political psychologist and vice president of the O.C. Tanner Institute, this ick is almost certainly a sign of waning trust: “People can tell when everyone is impression-managing instead of just being honest about how things are going.” (Fast Company)

That performative quality is just as damaging as the lack of clarity – people just can’t connect with it. And if you’re not talking straight people don’t feel safe, they pull back. Trust erodes. Communication fails.

So much so there’s even a rising wave of self-styled ‘corporate dropout’ content creators on TikTok, such as Charlie Hunter.

That’s, of course, anti-corporate reaction in extremis. But it’s not far-fetched to say that all this gibberish isn’t doing much good.

Time to pull back the frills a bit and say what you actually mean.

For more clarity in your leadership comms, talk to 106 Communcations.