‘Blue sky considering’ and ‘contact base’ voted most hated workplace phrases

‘Touch base’ and ‘blue sky thinking’ have been voted the most hated office phrases by UK workers – as one in five fear they are missing out on promotions due to not understanding the corporate jargon.

Two thirds of Brits claimed to use business slang regularly whether they love it or loathe it, but some words anger and confuse workers more than others.

A study of 2,000 people by bingo firm tombola has revealed the most hated phrase is ‘touch base’ with 18 per cent of the vote.

‘Blue sky thinking’ and ‘low-hanging fruit [easy pickings]’ are tied in second with 17 per cent and around one third of workers (32 per cent and 33 per cent) admit they don’t even understand them.

Also included in the top five most hated corporate phrases were ‘re-inventing the wheel’ (10 per cent) and ‘synergise’ (11 per cent), which proved to be the most hated single word – beating the likes of ‘bandwidth’.

Pictured: Office workers walking through Canary Wharf in London during the morning rush hour

The study also reports that a staggering 87 per cent of people are regularly faced with slang they don’t understand, working out at roughly 46.7million people.

It has left more than a third of Brits (35 per cent) admitting they feel stupid or embarrassed when corporate phrases they don’t understand are used in the workplace.

The most unfamiliar phrase, with almost two fifths of the vote (36 per cent), is ‘move the needle’ which loosely translates to ‘making a change that is noticeable’.

Almost one in five Brits (18 per cent) believe their lack of jargon know-how has affected their chances of earning a promotion or a pay rise and a quarter said it impacted their confidence to speak up in meetings.

Women appear to worry more about their lack of lingo with a third (30 per cent) saying it affects their ability to speak up in meetings, compared to just one in seven men (16 per cent).

Psychologist Ruth Kudzi says leaders should be ‘inclusive’ with language and encourage workers to ask questions if they don’t understand words or phrases.

Ruth said: ‘It is common to feel embarrassed if people use terms or jargon that we don’t understand, particularly if it is in a professional setting.

Two thirds of Brits claimed to use business slang regularly whether they love it or loathe it, but some words anger and confuse workers more than others (stock photo)

‘The psychological reasoning behind this is because the panic of not understanding something someone says induces a ‘fight or flight’ state where we feel irritated with ourselves or anxious about how we are being perceived externally.

‘This feeling is amplified when in a group setting or put under pressure one-on-one.

‘It is normal for people within a sector or company to have certain words for tasks or processes but it’s important for leaders to be inclusive with their language and keep things simple.

‘Likewise, if you don’t understand certain words, the best course of action is to ask your colleagues questions as this will help to break down the jargon barriers.’

The survey also revealed the most used phrase is ‘hit the ground running’ with one in six Brits (16 per cent) admitting to using it in the workplace.

Google searches for ‘corporate slang’ have increased 23 per cent over the last three months, with a whopping 129 per cent increase compared to last year.

Nearly four in ten people (35 per cent) would say nothing at the time, but then go away and Google the phrase they didn’t understand.

A quarter of people (25 per cent) voted Bristol as the city with the best knowledge of corporate slang whereas Newcastle and Edinburgh were voted to have the worst (8 per cent).

Samantha Wilcox, SEO and Digital PR Manager at Tombola, which conducted the study, said: ‘The survey results prove that most Brits use corporate jargon as part of their everyday language in the workplace, but there are many people who are completely oblivious as to what these phrases mean, causing them to feel confused and frustrated.

‘According to the research, there is a perception that workers that don’t understand office jargon are less likely to progress at work, with women feeling particularly left behind.

‘Learning a whole new set of vocabulary can be time consuming, particularly on top of a day job, so we’ve created the ultimate corporate crib sheet to help people out. If you’re left feeling confused like the rest of the nation, hopefully this should help.’