When you work in an office, you may be asked to “touch base” or “circle back” to something, but a lot of younger employees are clueless about what that means. Modern office jobs have their own corporate lingo, and new research suggests Gen Z is getting lost in it.
A new survey from Careerminds asked 600 employees about 24 common workplace phrases and found that the youngest staffers only understood an average of 5.3 of them, fewer than any other age group. To be fair, many of these terms were around long before Gen Z entered the workforce and they’re not really taught in school, so as they’re hearing them for the first time at the office, they have to stumble over what they mean.
Common office jargon younger workers don’t understand includes:
- “In the pipeline” - Only 28% of Gen Z workers knew that it means “something is being worked on or planned, but isn’t ready yet,” compared to 48% of all workers and 56% of Gen Xers.
- “Touch base” - While 61% of Gen X knew this means “to have a quick chat or catch up with someone,” only 35% of Gen Z understood the term.
- “Put it on the back burner” - More than half (55%) of all respondents knew this means “to postpone something while focusing on more urgent priorities,” but that drops to 29% for Gen Z.
- “Hit the ground running” - Nearly two-thirds (64%) of all workers polled understood the phrase means “to start a new job or project confidently and make an immediate impact,” compared to 40% of the youngest staffers.
- “Let’s take this offline” - Only a quarter (26%) of Gen Zers understood this phrase, which means ‘to continue a discussion privately after a meeting rather than involving everyone.”
- “Push the envelope” - Most workers were confused by this one, as only 27% of all respondents and just 18% of Gen Z could define it as “to challenge limits or try something innovative.”
- “Blue sky thinking” - This one stumps a lot of staffers, as only 26% of all respondents knew it means “coming up with ambitious or imaginative ideas without worrying about practical constraints,” but that’s twice as many as the 13% of Gen Z who knew.
- “Move the needle” - Another one that confuses most workers, it means “to make a noticeable difference or have a significant impact,” but only 18% of all employees and 15% of Gen Z could define it.
Source: Metro