We’re in the golden age of career buzzwords – but are they doing us any good?

career buzzwords

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We’re in the golden age of career buzzwords – but are they doing us any good?

By Katie Rosseinsky

3 years ago

3 min read

From quiet quitting to career cushioning, work-focused buzzwords are everywhere.

Navigating the world of work in 2023 seems to require an entirely new lexicon. First came quiet quitting, the TikTok-fuelled trend that encouraged workers to fulfil only the minimum requirements of their job and nothing more, taking a stand against widespread overwork and looming burnout.

An appealing solution to an all-too-familiar office scenario summed up in a snappy, alliterative phrase, ‘quiet quitting’ caught our collective imagination; over on TikTok, the hashtag has notched up 417.6 million views to date.

It opened the floodgates for an influx of work-related vocabulary, from career cushioning (building a safety net to prepare you for recession) to rage applying (firing off CVs in a fit of pique). Things came full circle earlier this month when loud quitting (being open about looking for work elsewhere and using this as a potential negotiation tactic) made headlines. Clearly, it’s boom time for career buzzwords, but how did we get here, and can these terms go beyond the digital echo chamber to impact our work lives? 

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