New buzzwords at work

The working life is undergoing an unprecedented revolution with the generalisation of remote working, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. The professional habits of the French have definitely taken a turn with new, more flexible and modern organisations.

words at work: a new vocabulary for organisation

The proof? Remote would be the most used word in 2022 by employees, according to a Glassdoor study.

Closely associated, hybrid work and flexibility are emerging as new methods, encouraged by corporate design. For example, a workspace designed as a smart office relies on technology to better meet the needs of employees... and to increase their performance.

This term should not be confused with flex office, which marks the end of the fixed office: employees can move to a different location each day, depending on their appointments or projects. This is useful for collaborating with other colleagues on specific needs!

WORK WORDS THAT SEEP INTO PRIVATE LIFE

The search for independence and harmony between work and private life is pushing an expression like "work-life balance" to take on greater importance. It is even becoming a criterion of attractiveness that companies must emphasise when recruiting... Moreover, blurring, which refers to the disappearance of the boundary between work and personal life, is increasingly worrying candidates.

Another word from private life that enters the sphere of work is ghosting. It has the same meaning as on dating sites: being ignored without any explanation after several interviews.

Good to know: At the heart of a generation that wants to break the traditional codes of work, slash workers refer to workers, often young, who multiply their activities. They often combine the status of employee with that of entrepreneur or auto-entrepreneur, which allows them to exploit the extent of their skills in different trades.

vocabulary related to working life

While the Covid period has played a key role in changing corporate habits, it has also raised questions about the importance employees place on work.

Thus, since the summer of 2022, the term quiet-quitting has appeared on social networks. Born in particular on Tiktok, "quiet quitting" reveals a limited commitment of employees. Employees do not quit their jobs, but simply "do their hours". They stay at their job and just do the bare minimum.

Quick-quitting is leaving a job less than a year after taking it. What are the causes? The employee who is not satisfied with his company can find a job more easily. Sometimes, it is the employer himself who wants to separate from his employee.

Quiet-quitting and quick-quitting are not the only English words that reveal a deterioration in the relationship to work in recent years:

• boring-out  : burn-out, due to boredom caused by the absence of interesting tasks to do ; 
• brown-out : the loss of meaning at work, which becomes particularly burdensome.. 

There has also been an increase in the number of employees returning to work for their former employer. These are the boomerang employees.

Onboarding when starting a new job 

New words underline the evolution of companies towards their employees and the care they give them. This is particularly true for the arrival and departure of employees. Onboarding corresponds to the fact of facilitating the integration of a new employee in the company.

What is the main objective of a team building? To reinforce the cohesion of the professional group through collective activities. As for offboarding, it refers to the support of an employee who leaves the company.

Training is also at the heart of employee support. Reskilling is the acquisition of new skills. It concerns employees who are reorienting themselves towards a new profession or who are evolving in their career.

This is not to be confused with upskilling, which is the strengthening of existing skills. It is a way to cope with changes in the sector or to evolve in one's profession.

Intrapreneurship is an innovative strategy for companies that want to retain their creative talents by offering them opportunities for internal project development and professional growth.

And the implementation of a Lean management system allows the company to significantly reduce production costs by eliminating sources of waste identified by employees.

The terms used mark the changes in the values attributed to work and the importance taken on by the remote. They highlight the new work habits but also a certain loss of breath on the part of employees, in search of a smile at work.