'Give 110 per cent' is officially the most annoying phrase. Photo / 123RF
'Give 110 per cent' is officially the most annoying phrase. Photo / 123RF
New research suggests that seven in 10 workers are guilty of using the most cringe-worthy phrases at the office — with "give 110 per cent" the leading offender.
The study, which was conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with a company called Jive Communications, looked at the communication behaviours of 2000American workers and compiled a list of the 40 most cringe-worthy office phrases.
"We've all been guilty of using these phrases, whether out of habit or not," senior vice president of Jive Communications John Pope told Fox News.
"While many of these phrases are helpful in conveying a message, I think this study will open a lot of people's eyes.
"It will help many of us to think twice about overusing phrases in the office, as well as the best way to communicate with or motivate those we work with."
1. Give 110 per cent 2. Think outside the box 3. Hammer it out 4. Heavy lifting 5. Throw them under the bus 6. Don't count your chickens before they've hatched 7. Pushing the envelope 8. Let the cat out of the bag 9. Let's circle back 10. Win-win situation 11. Blue-sky thinking 12. Boil the ocean 13. Synergy 14. Low-hanging fruit 15. Take it to the next level 16. Barking up the wrong tree 17. Going forward 18. Let's ballpark this 19. Run this up the flagpole 20. Back to square one 21. There's no I in team 22. Back to the drawing board 23. Paradigm shift 24. Elephant in the room 25. Raise the bar 26. Drill down 27. Best thing since sliced bread 28. Deep dive 29. Skin in the game 30. Reach out 31. Touch base 32. Play hardball 33. Don't reinvent the wheel 34. Kept in the loop 35. The bottom line 36. Down the road 37. I'll loop you in 38. Hit the nail on the head 39. ASAP 40. Team player
