Revealed: The Most Annoying Office Phrases

A new report spills the beans on the office jargon workers are most sick of hearing. It's “give 110%.”  Um...because there is only 100% or less.  We all know that when we hear it.  But we are supposed to be inspired by it.  Except..we're just thinking how it's mathematically impossible to give 110%.

Other top annoying phrases include “blue sky thinking” (19%), followed by “low-hanging fruit” (17%).

Top Ten Most Annoying Office Phrases 

  1. Give 110 per cent - To go above and beyond what is expected of you
  2. Blue sky thinking - Brainstorming in an open-minded fashion
  3. Low hanging fruit - Getting the easiest work out of the way first
  4. Synergise - To work together collaboratively in order to be more effective
  5. Outside the box - To think imaginatively, using fresh ideas
  6. Square the circle - To achieve something that is considered impossible
  7. Ecosystem - A complex, interconnected network
  8. Atomise - To break something (eg. a problem) down into smaller units
  9. Bleeding edge - A new technology/ technique that comes with a degree of risk
  10. A lot of moving parts - A lot of departments/ moving components to manage at any one time

We all dread the meeting involving PowerPoint presentations that feature some of these words.  "Synergy" and "paradigm" seem to come up as well.  It's almost as if the presenter can't find a common word to express a concept, so thinks that an obtuse word makes the presentation sound smarter.


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