The Buzz Around Business Buzzwords: It’s a Win-win
In its most recent poll, Preply Business, the corporate and training development firm, revealed the most cringeworthy and the most popular corporate buzzwords and “corporate speak.” In a survey of more than 1,500 corporate employees, researchers at Preply found that more than one in five employees disliked corporate buzzwords.
“Nevertheless, two in five say they hear buzzwords at least once a day and seven in 10 say they use them too,” the report noted, adding that “win-win” was the most popular buzzword and the “new normal” was the most hated amid those polled.
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In the rankings of the most popular buzzwords, “culture or company culture” came in second behind win-win and was followed by “ASAP” in third. “Think outside the box” ranked fourth and was followed by “moving forward/going forward” in fifth. “Circle back” was number six and was followed by “It’s on my radar” in seventh place. “On the same page” came in at number eight, and “new normal” was tenth.
On the most loathed list of buzzwords, new normal was followed by culture/company culture in second, and circle back in third. “Boots on the ground” came in fourth and was followed by “give 110 percent” in fifth and “low-hanging fruit” in sixth. Win-win came in at the number-seven spot, and was followed by “move the needle” in eighth and “growth hacking” at number nine. “Think outside the box” came in 10th.
When asked who uses buzzwords the most, 34 percent said it was respondents’ colleagues, while 31 percent said it was upper management and 24 percent said it was their boss. Six percent said it was the employees of the respondent, while 5 percent said it was themselves.
The survey also found that three in four respondents said using buzzwords “makes you look professional.”
The researchers also found that “people who identify as men are 10 percent more likely to use jargon than people who identify as women (76 percent versus 66 percent),” and also noted that when it comes to differences between the generations, “Millennials love a bit of jargon with 74 percent saying they use it.” Conversely, Boomers prefer plain speaking — they are least likely (61 percent) to use it.
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