73% of Brits want to see the term ‘annual leave’ dumped
New research has revealed almost three quarters (73%) of Brits want to see the term ‘annual leave’ dumped – and rebranded once more as ‘holiday’.
Reminder: you’re on holiday not “annual leave”. You’re not the captain of an aircraft carrier.
— Chris Williams (@cg_williams) August 12, 2019
Workers who have been switching on their out-of-office messages throughout the summer say referring to ‘leave’ is one of their biggest peeves, along with other irritating office lingo such as ‘blue sky thinking’ and ‘going forward’.
The most-hated phrase was ‘touch base’ in a survey commissioned by mobile business account ANNA.
‘REACH OUT AND TOUCH BASE’ -Depeche Mode working in an office
— Sam (@sam_bambs) July 4, 2019
The ‘Most annoying’ office lingo according to the survey – with sensible translations
- Touch base – Let’s Talk
- Blue sky thinking – Crazy ideas we can’t afford
- Going forward – In (the) future
- Think outside the box – Think of something I haven’t thought of
- Annual leave – Holiday
- Low hanging fruit – Easy stuff with quick rewards
- Reach out – Get in touch
- Can we chat? – I’m leaving / You’re leaving
- Closing the loop – Making a decision
- Let’s take this offline – You’re making it awkward, please stop
Daljit Singh, head of work culture at ANNA, said: “The term ‘annual leave’ makes employees instantly guilt-ridden. We need to reclaim the word ‘holiday’ – it is an essential and important part of preventing work burnout. After all, Madonna sang about the joys of a much-needed holiday – not annual leave.”
