Synnergy. Low-hanging fruit. Touch base. Blue sky thinking.
If you have worked in a corporate setting, odds are you’re familiar with these phrases. It’s called Corporatese– a whole new language being used across the corporate world.
Last summer, my first internship introduced me to this strange new jargon. Even at a creative start-up, my bosses and coworkers communicated in this roundabout, indirect way that initially left me confused. But, as the summer went on, I too became fluent. I started slipping piggybacking and leveraging into emails, and to be honest, it felt good. Using the lingo made me feel like I was part of something.
I could play a character– I could separate my personal self from my professional one.
In her podcast Sounds Like a Cult, Amanda Montell explores The Cult of Corporate America; could this harmless lingo actually point to something more sinister? There is no doubt that corporatese lessens the blow of criticism and ‘cutesifies’ labor. But, Montell argues that it goes deeper: “the purpose of this language is not to communicate, it’s to clock who’s a troublemaker. Who’s using it, who’s not, who’s going to fall in line… they are the ones who climb the ladder.”
From my own experience, when I drank the Kool-Aid and flexed my corporatese, I received more positive feedback– I was celebrated for being a good team player. But when I set boundaries in the workplace, even reasonable ones, I was suddenly seen as defiant. I quickly learned that the corporate world enjoys control and obedience; independent thinking is often viewed as a threat.
This forced dissociation between professional and personal selves may not be entirely bad. For me, it created a healthy balance; I could truly clock off mentally at the end of the day and save time for family, friends, and hobbies. Still, I wonder about workers who cannot separate the two, those who leave the office only to log back on at home. What happens when work becomes inseparable from life? To succeed, must we surrender to a corporate, bot version of ourselves?
Montell calls the American Dream the ultimate cult. The concept doesn’t allow for contentment, only pushing for constant striving– towards a promotion, a bigger house, a better life. Maybe the “Dream Big” mentality is what is keeping us in conformity. If you’re passionate about your work, by all means, work as much, as hard, and for as long as you want. But, it’s also okay to “Dream Small”– to work to live, not live to work. It is okay to prioritize personal fulfillment over professional advancement.
Ultimately, the key is to redefine success; find your own personal version and stay true to it. But remember that something might have to give. And, for some, speaking corporatese may be the easiest sacrifice.