OFFICE know-it-alls have been renamed “testiculators” by workmates — for waving their hands around and “talking bs”.
The new term was uncovered during a study into office jargon made up by work colleagues.
A “meanderthal” is a staff member who is slow to grasp things and does not get to the point.
And a “duck shuffler” is someone who messes things up when the office has all its “ducks in a row”.
A “negatron” is a pessimist and a “clocksucker” describes an unproductive colleague, always waiting for home time.
Meanwhile, a “faulty tasker” describes someone who takes on too much and then gets nothing done properly.
Office meeting platform Meeting Canary asked 1,016 staff about the jargon used in their workplaces.
Human resources expert Prof Michael Dickmann, of Cranfield University, Beds, said: “Offices are increasingly stressful environments and phrases like ‘testiculator’ and ‘meanderthals’ get the point across beautifully. They are funny and they help to relieve pent-up stress levels among colleagues.”
But six out of ten people said they dislike office jargon of any kind, with older people hating it most.
The Sun previously revealed the most infuriating snippets of office jargon – guaranteed to make your toes curl.
The survey, which was conducted at London’s IP EXPO tradeshow by Fuze, found that over a quarter of the IT professionals surveyed said “Give 110 percent” was their most frustrating phrase to hear.
While the infuriating catchphrase “blue sky thinking” also raked in 19 per cent of the vote.
Meanwhile 74 per cent of people said they believe colleagues only use buzzwords in order to sound more intelligent.
Commenting on the survey findings, Bradlee Allen, Product Evangelist at Fuze, said: “In businesses across the UK, meaningless and often nonsensical jargon continues to be used.
“The use of cliches and buzzwords contradicts the move to replicate consumer-like experiences in the workplace and alienates both workers and customers.”
1. Give 110 per cent: Go above and beyond what is expected of you
2. Blue sky thinking: Being open-minded; thinking outside of the box
3. Low hanging fruit: Getting the easiest work out of the way first
4. Synergise: To work together collaboratively in order to be more effective
5. Outside the box: To think imaginatively, using fresh ideas
6. Square the circle: To achieve something that is considered impossible
7. Ecosystem: A complex, interconnected network
8. Atomise: To break something (eg. a problem) down into smaller units
9. Bleeding edge: A new technology/ technique that comes with a degree of risk
10. A lot of moving parts: A lot of departments/ moving components to manage at any one time
