35 People Share Passive Aggressive ‘Gibberish Phrases’ That Almost Everyone Uses In Their Workplace
"As per my last e-mail." "A few things..." "While I understand your urgency..." If you recognize any of these, you're probably familiar with office language. It's clunky. It's repetitive. But once you become fluent at it, you start noticing little nuances that make it a bit more exciting. Like the passive-aggressive phrases people throw at each other to make life harder than it should be.
Recently, writer, producer, and social media consultant Delia Paunescu asked Twitter to list the best/most insufferable work gibberish, and holy coffee-machine-small-talk, did everyone deliver! Scroll down to check them out and upvote your faves!
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I'm on number 4 now, but I love it so much. If only I could use the second part directly instead of a "Just to clarify"
The confusing maze of office lingo is one of the reasons why an estimated 2.9 billion people of the 3 billion who go to work every day of avoid making small talk with their colleagues. However, this can cost them a promotion.
Jamie Terran, a licensed career coach in New York City, told The New York Times that small talk between colleagues and supervisors builds rapport, which in turn builds trust. “Rapport is the feeling that allows you to extend a deadline, or overlook smaller mistakes, because it makes it easy for you to remember we’re only human. Right or wrong, building rapport through interaction with colleagues could be the thing that gets you the promotion or keeps you in the role you’re in.”
Luckily, turning your anxiety about making small talk with your co-workers into worrying about not making small talk with your co-workers is definitely possible. Of course, it's easier said than done, but we have to understand that while small talk can be a nightmare, the lack of it can make us miserable as well. I mean, isn't the ability to truly connect with a fellow team member, one that can really understand your daily struggles, something worth working for? Especially when you consider that failure to do so can get you kicked out when the time comes for someone to get sacked. Just some food for thought!
Once I forwarded some company bills to accounting BO,after that they asked me to help about some lost bills in person.Went up, accounting staff there,and I told the one I forwarded the mail beforehand that she has them there. Asks me back where. I had to tell her in front of everyone,that since it's not MY email we are looking at,but hers,she should now it. I had to look for the title from my messages on my phone,to help her find it among her emails....it was already read. 😒 From that on, accounting BO believes me when I say I already sent them something. 🙃
When my husband started working he wondered why the person in the room next to him would send an email for something small instead of just walking two steps and ask or tell in person. After a few incidents where people insisted he never told them about something he now does this all the time himself, just to have proof he did actually tell something...
Usually, I keep this way when they own me money, but clearly want to yell at them
I've worked with people who will send something at 4.45pm and say "I need this for a customer meeting at 9 tomorrow". If you help them once, then they never need to be organised ever again, because they have their patsy. "I'm sorry, but I have a [insert important-sounding appointment] that I just can't miss" works well, followed up with "for future reference, I really need more notice". They don't like it, but they usually learn from it.
..Cause I spent 2 hours preparing this quote for you and you did not even dare to say thanks for this offer during the past week ...
I love this one. I get it a lot regarding a policy the did, in fact, change 4 years ago. But management for other departments is notorious for not consistently communicating this type of thing.
I used to have a boss with the most appalling memory. Did use it once to my advantage by pretending I'd told him something and as he was the worst boss I only feel slightly guilty. His fault in part for never writing things down. He used to think we were still in the 70s during the 90s.
Answer: If you need a recap, I suggest you write it and send it to me for approval.
In non-US countries to table something means to START discussing it, as in "put all your cards on the table".
My boss is famous for answering YES or NO to questions that are NOT, in fact, yes or no questions. Which forces us to follow up with a "just to clarify" email.
Sometimes I'm c**p at explaining. So I have written this and meant it.
Or it's just a polite way of saying "I hope your day goes well"?? Why is everyone here so paranoid?
What's wrong with this, sounds like a recap. "Thank you. I'll proceed with "A" and send you a proof by noon tomorrow. Should I keep going while you're proofing or wait for approval?"
Or: "Here's a massive problem that I have created. Good luck with it."
Off topic but it bothers me when I see it spelled “huncho.” It’s honcho or hancho, not huncho. That just makes it seem like they pronounce it wrong too.
Used to have a math teacher in high school that would say "That's an interesting point..but if you put a hat on, nobody will notice."
This used to be my go-to. Basically to mean “Your solution is stupid and time consuming, and wrong. But since you’re the boss, just confirm you want this done the stupid way, so I don’t have to hear s**t from you later when it all goes wrong. Confirm that my time is about to be wasted.”
I say that but not meaning anything other than hoping I have helped solve a problem.
Somewhere along the line, politeness and tact have been redefined as passive aggressiveness. Some of these phrases are just trying to be tactful. Some are dressing up outright lies but aren't passive aggressive. The phrase passive aggressive should only really be used when you are ever so sweetly actively trying to destroy someone.
On any design/development forum: "You need to think outside the box" = "Your ideas are all c**p."
Or 'blue-sky thinking'. We want you to come up with some different answers - but we won't use any of them.
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It's funny. When I use some of those terms I know I'm being passive aggressive but coming from someone else, I never read them that way.
Somewhere along the line, politeness and tact have been redefined as passive aggressiveness. Some of these phrases are just trying to be tactful. Some are dressing up outright lies but aren't passive aggressive. The phrase passive aggressive should only really be used when you are ever so sweetly actively trying to destroy someone.
On any design/development forum: "You need to think outside the box" = "Your ideas are all c**p."
Or 'blue-sky thinking'. We want you to come up with some different answers - but we won't use any of them.
Load More Replies... It's funny. When I use some of those terms I know I'm being passive aggressive but coming from someone else, I never read them that way.
