Let’s Circle Back: The Most-Hated Office Jargon in 2025

Language is constantly changing, and office slang is a category of its own. If you hate being told to “circle back” or “touch base” with your coworkers, you’re not alone. Kickresume recently investigated which white-collar jargon people hate the most in 2025.

The AI career tool determined which lingo American officer workers find most grating by compiling a list of widely used terms from the corporate world. Data analysts examined 100 jargon-laden posts from various U.S.-based users on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn. To broaden the scope of their report, Kickresume looked at the social media pages of professionals from various industries and career levels. 

The study revealed that circle back and synergy were the most loathed terms. The former phrase usually means to bring up a topic later, while Merriam-Webster defines the latter as working together or a mutually beneficial relationship between businesses. On LinkedIn, about 35 percent of posts mocking office jargon mention both phrases. Users on the website also get annoyed with low-hanging fruit, which is an easy achievement.

X users seem to despise office slang as well. Eighty-five percent of the surveyed tweets about work-related jargon were negative. Circle back showed up in 45 percent of tweets on the subject, while synergy featured in 30 percent.

Some of these words also appeared on Preply.com’s report on the most annoying business-related buzzword in 2022. The platform surveyed over 1500 U.S. office workers and found that circle back and low-hanging fruit were typical office phrases people wished would disappear. Other terms included new normal, culture, and give 110 percent.    

In addition to getting on people’s nerves, Kickresume found that office jargon might be bad for business, as specific phrases may be confusing to employees. Not only is this frustrating to workers, but it also slows them down since they need to ask for clarification. These delays may end up costing employers more than they thought: Data analysts used information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other sources to make a “jargon calculator,” showing how much companies can possibly save by getting rid of cliché office sayings. According to the tool, small, medium, and large companies could lose a lot of money—approximately $546,000, $6 million, and $40 million a year, respectively—due to miscommunication with employees.

Read More About Language: