The 8 Most Annoying Workplace Buzzwords

That's not a valid work email account. Please enter your work email (e.g. you@yourcompany.com)
Please enter your work email
(e.g. you@yourcompany.com)

AngerBuzzwords have always been big in the world of business. Some of these buzzwords are useful and even necessary, but many more are simply empty fluff that we should avoid as much as possible.

With that in mind, here is a list of some of the most annoying buzzwords (and “buzzphrases”) currently in popular use:

1. “Think Outside the Box”

This term is used to describe unconventional ways of thinking about some problem or concept. However, it has been used so much and so often that it really doesn’t mean much at all anymore.

2. “Leverage”

Originally a noun that referred to the increase in force gained by using a lever, the business world has turned it into a verb that basically means “manipulating a situation to make a particular company more financially secure.”

3. “Giving 110 Percent”

It is all well and good to want to sound eager, but saying you’ll give 110 percent just sounds cheesy.

4. “Empower”

This is used by authority figures when they want us to do something for them that is way above our pay grade.

5. “Taking It to The Next Level”

This overused phrase meaning “make something better” has become an eye-roller at best.

6. “Best Practice”

The consulting industry came up with this term to refer to a method that delivers better results than other, similar methods. However, “best” is quite a subjective adjective.

7. “Game-Changer”

Many entrepreneurs use this to describe how life-changing their new product will be. Generally, the product doesn’t actually change any game at all, but using this irritating business term builds the hype that entrepreneurs want.

8. “Window of Opportunity”

A “window of opportunity” is a small section of time in which something must get done. The idea that a task can only be completed in a tiny sliver of time tends to stress people out — usually for no good reason, as the suggested “window of opportunity” is rarely as slim as people make it out to be.

By Joshua Bjerke