A recent study has discovered that using corporate jargon in the workplace may be indicative of lower intelligence. Researchers found that employees who are impressed by corporate 'waffle' tend to score lower on tests measuring analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Study Findings
The findings, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, suggest that individuals use such language to 'create inflated perceptions of [their] knowledge, skills, status, accomplishments, ideas, or agenda'. Common phrases include 'active stakeholder engagement', which essentially means talking to customers, and promising to 'leverage' something, which means using it.
Corporate Bull**** Receptivity Scale
Participants in the study were asked to rate various passages of text and were ranked on the Corporate Bull**** Receptivity Scale. Those who scored higher were less likely to demonstrate strong analytical thinking and were more prone to making poor business decisions.
In one experiment, over 1,000 office workers were presented with workplace scenarios. For instance, a scenario involved a restaurant introducing a new payment system. Participants were told they had spent weeks training staff on it, only for the IT department to cancel the upgrade due to bugs.
When asked to choose the best response to staff anger over wasted training, the highest-scoring option was to speak to IT to check if reverting to the old system was the best option, consider alternatives, then explain the plan to staff to address their concerns. However, those most impressed by corporate jargon were more likely to choose lower-scoring options, such as going home and trying to fix the technical problems themselves.
Additional Insights
The study also revealed that those who fell for corporate jargon liked their jobs more, had a better opinion of their bosses, and were more likely to be stirred by company mission statements and report being happy at work. 'Corporate bull****' is a term used by a growing number of academics to describe a communication style padded with buzzwords that obscure simple ideas.
Shane Littrell, a cognitive psychologist at Cornell University who developed the scale, stated that the findings create a 'concerning cycle'. He added: 'Employees who are more likely to fall for corporate bull**** may help elevate the types of dysfunctional leaders who are more likely to use it, creating a sort of negative feedback loop.'
