State of Workplace Jargon Report 2023

Categories: Research, Data and insights
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LinkedIn Corporate Communications

Starting a new job—whether it’s your first position, or a next step on your career journey—learning the language of a new workplace is tough. To better understand how professionals all over the world feel about workplace jargon, LinkedIn and Duolingo, the world’s largest language learning platform, partnered to release the State of Workplace Jargon Report. 

The global report revealed:

  • Professionals feel jargon is being used too much in the workplace with the youngest generations feeling this way the most. 60% of Gen Z and 65% of millennials want to reduce or eliminate the use of workplace jargon, compared to 50% of Gen X and 23% of baby boomers.

  • Millennials are the generation using workplace jargon the most, with 25% saying they are so used to jargon at work that they barely realize they are using it.

  • Working professionals say overuse of jargon can complicate communication and sabotage productivity. 40% of workers say they’ve had a misunderstanding or made a mistake at work because they did not know the meaning of workplace jargon or misused it.  

  • Many workers are left figuring out workplace jargon on their own, causing inequity in the workplace. 

    • Professionals (61%) believe that workers with a better understanding of workplace jargon are able to get ahead at work (i.e., promotions, raisies, etc.).

    • Hybrid and remote workers report higher rates of feeling left out due to overuse of jargon (71%), compared to their onsite counterparts (54%).

    • Professionals from non-English speaking households or English as a second language (ESL) are also most likely to say the process of learning workplace jargon was stressful, slowed down productivity and made them feel left out of conversations.

Learn more about the results of the report, including the most common and confusing jargon phrases, and ways to communicate more inclusively with unlocked LinkedIn Learning courses (free through July 13, 2023) here.

 

*Methodology: LinkedIn and Duolingo commissioned Censuswide to survey 1,000+ workers aged 18+ in regions across the globe (US, UK, India, Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Japan) in April 2023. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society, which is based on the ESOMAR principles.