Member-only story

Corporate BS Decoder: A Cheat Sheet for Dealing with Office Jargon

Becca Brooks
Coffee & Cake
Published in
2 min readNov 26, 2023

After years of working in soul-sucking corporate environments early in my career, I became fluent in office lingo.

“Let’s touch base!” Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Allow me to translate some of the most commonly used phrases and spare you from having to decode the passive-aggressive corporate drivel:

  • “Let’s take this offline” — I’m annoyed and don’t want witnesses to see me lose my cool. Let’s argue in private later.
  • “I’ll have my people call your people” — I don’t actually intend to follow up but want to seem important.
  • “Let’s put a pin in this” — I’m tired of this nonsense and hope you’ll forget we ever discussed it.
  • “I’ll circle back” — Don’t hold your breath waiting for me to follow up. I probably won’t.
  • “Teamwork makes the dream work” — Please do all the actual work while I take credit.
  • “Synergy” — Corporate buzzword with no real meaning. Used to seem smart.
  • “Move the needle” — I expect improved results but I can’t provide more resources or support.
  • “Think outside the box” — I’m out of ideas but want you to magically innovate.
  • “Low-hanging fruit” — Let’s put in minimal effort for the easiest wins.
  • “Touch base” — It’s about…

--

--

Coffee & Cake
Coffee & Cake

Published in Coffee & Cake

Your digital espresso shot of satire and wit! “Coffee and Cake” serves up bite-sized takes on news, culture, and work-life, all with a humorous twist. Sip, savor, and smile with us.

Becca Brooks
Becca Brooks

Written by Becca Brooks

Aspiring writer seeking readers. Will write for food.

Responses (26)