Your Gen Z and millennial employees hate when you use these corporate buzzwords

Young man at computer looking frustrated (Credit: COROIMAGE—Getty Images)

• The most annoying corporate jargon making young employees roll their eyes has been revealed—and “circle back” is the worst offender.

Every time a Gen Z or millennial employee hears their boss utter the words “let’s circle back around” in a meeting, they’re secretly cringing on the inside. 

That’s at least according to a new study that has revealed the most-hated corporate jargon.

The research team at the AI transcription tool Notta.ai analyzed over 5,000 Reddit comments from almost 100 different subreddits using a natural language processing (NLP) tool to rank the common office buzzwords that employees find most annoying—and “circle back” came out on top.

Workers are also over hearing how agile their company is. Meanwhile, classic office lingo like “take this offline” and “touch base” is also grating staff.

Although the top five annoying terms listed account for over 40% of all complaints collected, there are some pretty unique entries, including "blue-sky thinking" (which apparently means to brainstorm without limitations) and "boil the ocean” (meaning to attempt something impossible).

The top 10 most annoying corporate jargon 

1. Circle back
2. Synergy
3. Lean
4. Touch base
5. Agile
6. Bandwidth
7. Leverage
8. Reach out
9. Low hanging fruit
10. Take this offline 

The 5 most unique—but still annoying—office jargon

1. Boil the ocean
   Meaning: To attempt something impossible
2. Blue-sky thinking
   Meaning: To brainstorm without limitations
3. Open the kimono
   Meaning: To reveal information
4. Swim lane
   Meaning: A person's or department's area of responsibility
5. Peel back the onion
   Meaning: To examine a problem in detail

"This study exposes a disconnect between corporate language and effective communication,” Kiyoto Tamura, spokesperson and COO of Notta, commented.

“We've also noticed that while some jargon terms persist, new ones are being introduced, especially from the tech industry. Terms like 'bandwidth' and 'agile' are now misused outside their original contexts. Meanwhile, traditional business terms like 'synergy' and 'leverage' continue to be among the most annoying jargon used in corporate settings.”

Whether it’s an old term or a new one getting on your subordinates' nerves, they have one thing in common: The researchers noted that the most annoying phrases are often vague and noncommittal.

“Employees are frustrated with unclear directives and a lack of actionable communication in their work environment,” Tamura added.

He urged that if you’re going to use terms to pump up staff and promote productivity then you should ditch the jargon and use specific, actionable language.

For example, instead of saying “circle back,” specify when you'll follow up. Or replace “take this offline,” with clear next steps how. 

“This is especially important now, with more people working remotely or in hybrid settings, where clear communication directly impacts team cohesion and efficiency," Tamura concluded.

Young workers are probably thinking: WTF even is synergy? 

Really, corporate jargon isn’t just annoying. For some young workers, it’s the difference between understanding what their manager is asking from them and not. 

Reams of research have suggested there’s a communication barrier between young workers and their more seasoned peers, and office terminology that is familiar to boomers but new to “Zoomers” is just adding to the friction.

Just last month, one study highlighted that Gen Z and millennial workers have no clue what their boss is talking about when they say KPI, CRM, VPN, and more.

“Jargon or abbreviations may make communication faster, but it can also open up the opportunity for misunderstandings, especially with entry-level employees that may already be struggling with the adjustment to their new role,” the researchers noted. 

They’re not wrong. At least once a week, half of workers think a colleague has used a phrase that sounds like a foreign language—when it is in fact just jargon, with Gen Z and millennial workers struggling to understand their coworkers the most. 

At the same time, one in five Gen Zers haven’t had a single conversation with someone over 50 in their workplace in the last year, LinkedIn research shows. Why? They don’t know how to talk to them, which is hardly surprising when they feel like they’re speaking entirely different languages.