15+ Employees share how they use corporate jargon to slight their deserving colleagues: ‘Govern yourself accordingly’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Nov 12, 2025 7:00 PM EST

Corporate jargon is one of those things you have to learn by experiencing it yourself. Like learning a foreign language, you always think a rigorous study plan and foreign literature will prepare you once you're thrust into a world that is alien to you. Most of the time, flash cards and an audiobook are not enough. You must dive headfirst into the culture, learn what it means to think like the language-speakers, and set your pride aside as you come to understand what you can and cannot say.

Finding PG, HR-approved ways to say "I hate you" and "Your idea is stupid" is integral to any work environment. Obviously, we're hyperbolizing a bit, but there is still something to be said of having to play a game reliant on diction and tone, all the while sneaking under HR's nose by the skin of your teeth.

The lost art of passive aggression has been found by Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Z employees eager to stay true to themselves while staying true to their rent payments every month. So, finding ways to say what you mean without technically saying what you mean is the perfect way to put your foot down. Scroll below to read some employees' favorite ways to tell their colleagues to get out of their faces.

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