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Gen Z and millennial workers feel confused, irritated, and left out by endless 'workplace jargon' in the office, LinkedIn research shows

Jun 13, 2023, 21:40 IST
Business Insider
Gen Z and Millennials say that 'workplace jargon' is making them feel left out at work.Delmaine Donson/Getty Images
  • Almost half of Gen Z and Millennial workers say "workplace jargon" is making them feel left out.
  • A new survey by LinkedIn found that young professionals were puzzled by lingo like "ducks in a row."
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Young professionals entering the workforce are puzzled by the seemingly endless dictionary of workplace jargon thrown at them.

New research released by LinkedIn and Duolingo surveyed 1,016 respondents in the UK between the ages of 18 and 76 and found that 48% of Gen Z and Millennials are feeling left out at work because of the use of workplace jargon like "blue-sky thinking," and "low hanging fruit," according to a press release viewed by Insider.

A little more than two-thirds of young people said that their colleagues were going overboard with jargon at work, but 54% of young workers said that they changed how they spoke to fit in.

Some 60% of Gen Z and Millennials said the jargon was like a different language, and, as a result, almost half said that they had made a mistake at work because they didn't understand a phrase.

More than half of young professionals said that they had looked up a word in a meeting to understand the conversation, while 83% said that they had used a word they didn't really understand in a professional situation to keep up appearances.

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Some of the most frequently used phrases at work included "moving forwards," "touch base," "circle back," and "ducks in a row."

Respondents said some of the most annoying phrases were "blue-sky thinking" and "low-hanging fruit."

"Plenty of people use jargon as part of their everyday language without even realizing it, but for those who are newer to the workplace, learning a whole new set of vocabulary can be frustrating," Charlotte Davies, a career expert at LinkedIn, said in the press release.

"There is a perception that those who can get to grips with jargon are more likely to progress at work, with 67% of Gen-Z and Millennials agreeing. Learning the workplace language can be tough, and we hope that by opening up the conversation, we can help to break down that workplace language barrier."

Gen Z is still getting to grips with the workplace, and those who graduated during the pandemic may find it even harder to integrate.

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Managers at Deloitte and PWC told the Financial Times in May that pandemic graduates who studied virtually needed extra training because they struggled with teamwork, communication, and collaboration.

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