The department that turned firing into a growth opportunity.
Time off granted to employees after childbirth or adoption. The duration varies wildly by country, company, and whether your boss secretly resents you for using it.
Holding a second job or working for a competitor during off-hours. Most employment contracts treat this like treason.
The elimination of a job position, making the employee redundant. British English for 'layoff' but somehow sounds more civilized.
An employee identified as having the capability and commitment to advance into senior leadership roles. Also known as 'the person who gets better assignments and more mentoring than everyone else.'
Having more education, experience, or skills than a position requires; when HR says this, they mean 'we're worried you'll leave the moment something better appears.'
Assessment of the difference between current employee capabilities and those required for organizational goals. Also known as 'realizing we hired people for jobs we never defined.'
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs that companies implement while continuing to promote the same homogeneous leadership. It's the performative art of checking boxes.
Corporate directives requiring remote employees to return to physical offices, typically citing collaboration and culture. Often met with resistance from employees who've experienced the benefits of remote work.
Unintentional prejudices affecting hiring, promotion, and workplace decisions based on gender, race, age, or other characteristics. Everyone has it, most companies do nothing about it beyond one training session.
A group of employees organized around a specific function, united only by their mutual resentment of other departments.
The persistent belief that you don't actually deserve your job and everyone will eventually figure out you have no idea what you're doing. Ironically, having this means you probably are competent.
Employment models allowing employees to customize work schedules and locations, such as remote work, flexible hours, or compressed weeks. The millennial and Gen Z negotiating point.
The process of integrating a new employee into a company, involving paperwork, passwords, and a slow realization they made a huge mistake.
When HR policies are so restrictive and controlling that employees feel micromanaged by automated systems rather than actual humans.
When a colleague pretends to be your friend while actively undermining your projects to leadership. The knife wound comes with a smile.
A retirement account where you give the government a loan by deferring your taxes, betting that you'll be in a lower tax bracket when you're old and useless. It's faith-based finance.
An HR professional who has convinced everyone that they're a strategic advisor rather than someone who processes paperwork and ensures compliance with labor laws.
Key Result Area—a broad category of responsibility defining what an employee should accomplish. Like OKRs' less structured cousin who still shows up to family dinners.
End of Year—the period for performance evaluations, bonus determinations, and reflection on annual accomplishments. When everyone realizes their ambitious goals were impossible.
The wave of employee departures following the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in 2021-2022, driven by demands for better pay, flexibility, and working conditions. When workers realized they had leverage.
The opposite problem: insufficient oversight where managers are so hands-off that employees lack guidance, resources, or support. Benign neglect masquerading as empowerment.
Getting people to care about and participate in your project—like herding cats if the cats had competing agendas and quarterly objectives.
Beginning of Year—the period for setting annual goals, budgets, and strategic priorities. A time of optimism quickly replaced by reality.
Active support from privileged group members toward marginalized groups in the workplace and beyond. Often performed performatively without actual advocacy or risk.