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Cut out these annoying phrases at the office for your New Yearโ€™s resolution

Cut out these annoying phrases at your office this year, says Kit Out My Office

Traditionally, New Yearโ€™s resolutions are often set as personal goals to better ourselves, ranging from visiting the gym more often through to learning a new language. For 2017, Kit Out My Office wants colleagues across the UK to come together and set a New Yearโ€™s resolution for their team โ€“ to stamp out the most annoying phrases and improve morale.

Kit Out My Office, an online retailer of office furniture, has compiled a list of the most annoying office phrases based on feedback from 2602 office workers across the UK.

The top five most annoying office phrases are:

  1. Think outside the box
  2. Itโ€™s not rocket science
  3. Amazeballs
  4. Going forward
  5. Can I borrow you for a second?

Office jargon is often used as a tool to make a task or job seem bigger or better than it may actually be, but it can also be used in a much more innocent way, explains Gareth Jones, Business Manager at Kit Out My Office.

โ€œThe modern working life is fast-paced, and as such we strive to deliver information in a clear and concise manner,โ€ says Jones. โ€œThe downside of this is it is a breeding ground for jargon. Setting a collective New Yearโ€™s resolution in your office to stamp out jargon in 2017 could definitely help to improve morale.โ€

Dr Julia Claxton, Principal Lecturer in Leadership and Organisational Development at Leeds Beckett University added: โ€œHurt feelings, unclear goals and ambiguous strategies are just a few examples of issues that can arise and contribute to low morale and are the basis of an ineffective team that can be easily avoided.โ€

At the opposite end of the spectrum lays โ€œbest practiceโ€, which is the least annoying phrase used, with nobody stating that it was irritating or overused.

Top five phrases that won’t annoy your colleagues:

  1. Best practice
  2. Thrown under the bus
  3. No brainer
  4. Cool beans
  5. Move the goalposts.