Office jargon ‘hampers productivity’

14/10/2008

Almost three quarters of workers believe business jargon is hampering office productivity, a new report has found.

The survey, by serviced office company MWB Business Exchange, found over half of workers admit to using jargon, which more than a third confess to using phrases such as ‘let’s touch base’ every other day.

One in five said their pet peeve is the phrase ‘thinking outside the box’, while more than one in 10 find ‘blue sky thinking’ the most irritating.

Surprisingly, under 24-year-olds are most likely to admit to using office jargon, which MWB said suggests younger workers could lead the change to common-sense communication.

Larger companies are the most likely to use buzzwords, with 98% of workers saying they use it every day – compared with just a quarter of small businesses.

John Spencer, the company’s chief executive, said office jargon has ‘got completely out of hand’.

“A lot of the time it comes down to laziness, as buzz words are used to save time instead of thinking about the most appropriate phrase,” he said.

“More needs to be done to stamp it out, as in these uncertain times business leaders need to make sure they are understood. There is no room for confusion.“

“It’s time to start applying common sense to what we say in the office as well as in the real world.

“Senior managers, as some of the worst offenders, need to set an example and could start by banning certain buzz words from meetings to try to reverse the trend.”