- Gen Z is among those least likely to understand corporate jargon, the report claims
- Younger workers struggle to fit into a distant working world
- Leaders should prioritize inclusion, not fancy jargon
New research has claimed that younger workers feel increasingly disconnected from their workplaces, with the average Gen Z worker only understanding 5.3 out of 24 common workplace phrases.
More broadly, the average worker of any age identified seven out of 24, with around half (48.8%) understanding five or fewer, revealing a shift in how workplaces communicate, the CareerMinds report found.
This comes amid ongoing transformations, with AI automating many administrative roles and post-pandemic hybrid work changing how colleagues interact with each other.
Workplace slang is evolving, and we’re in the middle of it today
CareerMinds found that younger workers were less likely to understand terms like ‘in the pipeline’, ‘touch base’, ‘put it on the back burner’ and ‘hit the ground running’. Even the most recognized term, ‘in the loop’, was only understood by 57.3% of respondents.
The report also cites an external study from 2024 that points to declining social skills and verbal communication skills, likely as a result of remote work.
With younger workers less likely to feel they fit into corporate office environments, both physical and digital, the report argues that younger workers can be affected in terms of career progression, confidence and participation.
“For managers, the takeaway is simple: communicating clearly is a leadership skill, not a sign of being less sophisticated,” career expert Amanda Augustine wrote, suggesting that leaders and managers should focus on including all employees rather than showing off with lesser-known terminologies and dated phrases.
“Workplace jargon can be useful as a form of shorthand, but the results show how easily it can exclude people who haven’t yet learned the language.”
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