friction

Intermediate 👥 Human Resources

Definition

The workplace tension that occurs when personalities, processes, or priorities collide, creating organizational drag that slows everything down. In physics, it's the force that opposes motion; in business, it's what happens when sales promises something engineering can't deliver. Smart leaders try to minimize it, while others mistake it for 'healthy debate' right up until someone quits.

Example Usage

There was constant friction between the marketing and product teams over feature priorities.

Source: Common business terminology

Related Terms

Translate This Term

See “friction” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator