Office workers are fighting back against the scourge of "management-speak", dubbing the very phrases intended to lubricate colleague relations a "pointless irritation."
"Going forward" and "thinking outside the box" have been dubbed the most offensive terms, according to a survey by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).
And this vocabulary virus is not limited to the UK. Spanish workers have complained of over-use of "Es lo que es" ("It is what it is"), while the French say they cannot stand anglicisms such as "win-win", "next step" and the verb "brainstormer".
English words have also crept into Russian management-speak, where workers complain of their "top-manager", and even the Italians refer to "core business" and "benchmarking".
At the end of the day, office jargon is what it is, but if you don't want to 110% annoy your colleagues, try replacing the10 business terms listed below with their real-world equivalents.
Ten infuriating office terms and their English equivalents:
1. "Reach out" - Call, email or meet
2. "Touch base" - Contact; see above
3. "It's on my radar" - I'm aware
4. "Flag up" - Make aware of
5. "Low-hanging fruit" - An easily-achievable goal
6. "It's a win-win situation" - It's a good idea
7. "It's a no-brainer" - See above
8. "Best practice" - A good way of doing something
9. "I'll ping you an agenda" - I'll email you with what's happening
10. "Take it to the next level" - Improve (alternatively, avoid dealing with abstract "levels" altogether and give your colleagues a tangible goal).