Young workers getting lost in translation

If you’re a boss who manages Gen Z workers — a task you sometimes find akin to “herding cats” — it’s time to throw cold water on “boiling the ocean.”

There’s a generation language gap in the workplace. Surveys show that older managers believe young workers don’t listen to what they are saying. Perhaps it’s because they don’t understand what the older folks are saying.

A new survey from LinkedIn found that 60% of workers 25 and under said “jargon is being used too much in the workplace.” Overall, 40% of all office workers said they made a mistake at work “because they did not know the meaning of workplace jargon.” Older managers often don’t realize that slang terms common when they were young are a mystery to Gen Z.

Which office jargon or slang expressions are most confusing to young workers? LinkedIn and language-learning company Duolingo said the five terms workers find most perplexing are: 1. boiling the ocean; 2. herding cats; 3. ducks in a row; 4. move the needle; and 5. run it up the flagpole.

To close the jargon gap, LinkedIn advises workers to tell their managers if they don’t understand an expression and for managers to be more precise in telling workers what they want.

So, with a little more communication, younger workers will find their job is the bee’s knees, whatever that means.