Eliminating Business Cliché from the Office Environment

"Let's circle back" and take this "offline" if you've got the "bandwidth" to discuss later. If you've stopped shuddering, please continue reading. The American workforce is exhausted - truly exhausted. From working extended hours beyond the 40-hour workweek to the incessant usage of business clichés that we encounter every day. Long days in the office and hearing the same unnecessary "buzzwords" and phrases turn employees off. They become disinterested and disengaged individuals who completely tune out.

"Working from home does help reduce some of this anxiety by allowing employees to avoid daily in-person encounters" said Jim Burkhart, Senior Director of Operations at FutureCommPR. However, there's no escape when attending remote meetings. We're still exposed to managers or colleagues who insert every cliché they can think of into conversations. Is this done to mask their lack of knowledge about a specific topic or project? Or are they simply reiterating what they learned in college or from others in business settings throughout their careers? It's probably a little of both.

A recent LinkedIn survey asked workers what they disliked the most about their jobs. The top three responses were: 1) Too many meetings, 2) having to work more than 40 hours per week, and 3) mindless office chatter, including business clichés. Perhaps there would be fewer meetings if extraneous words and phrases were removed from conversations. Maybe this would also reduce work hours.

This survey revealed that the three most disliked clichés are "Disruption," "Gamechanger," and "New Normal." Let's be honest here - most business decisions and models won't disrupt anything. Introducing a new product won't really change any "game." No one wants to hear the phrase "New Normal." We’re already there – no need to keep reminding everyone about the changes we’ve all suffered through the past few years.

We might see a glimmer of motivation return to our workplaces if we eliminated the use of these clichés. These words and phrases have been so deeply ingrained into our daily vernacular that it's challenging to avoid using them. But let's all try. By being conscious of what we include in our conversations, we can minimize the negative impact on productivity and motivation in the workplace. Perhaps this will re-inspire workers and we can put an end to Bare Minimum Mondays and disengaged colleagues.