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How do you say “it sounds like your problem” in the corporate language?
What many people seem to have been thinking about, turned out to be a problem. Many of them turned to Laura Wheely for answers.
With over 6 million followers on Instagram and Tiktok, Whaley is one of the content creators who help Gen Z workers and other confused white-collar employees become more proficient in corporate communications.
In her popular “How You Professionally Say” video, Whaley is given a set of ideas that can regularly intersect the minds of young employees. Her translations taste them as bosses. “What are you talking about?” “Can you explain in detail about your thoughts here?”
The popularity of these skits reflects common problems. Workplace jargon has always been a problem. However, with five generations working together, colleagues can find themselves speaking different dialects. You may need a translator.
Other interpreters who create sales points for office encylist include Vincent Xu, a LA-based lawyer with amassing more than half a million followers across Tiktok and Instagram, and around 100,000 Mike Mancusi on Instagram. In Mancusi’s board skit, the translator explains that the CEO’s announcement of a “strategic process” means “layoffs.”
Xu says he began making “How to Say Professionally” videos after observing the “communication gap” between workers’ emotions and the ability to clarify them in a language suitable for the company. His viewers tell him that he helped them set boundaries with their boss or helped them endure tough meetings. “People don’t necessarily copy the words of my phrase into words, but they’re learning to translate their emotions into languages that get results.”
The video is particularly popular among younger staff. A survey by expert networks LinkedIn and Duolingo found that language learning apps, 48% of Gen Z, and millennial workers feel they are not involved in the workplace due to technical terms. Two thirds said they must resolve the meaning of office terminology without the help of managers and colleagues.
Poppy Allen, 23, who works for insurance, counts herself among the group and turns to Whaley’s video. Their “most useful” guidance tells her how to politely ask if a meeting is necessary when it happens frequently, when a colleague doesn’t first clarify it.
Kemba Neptune, a communications expert at the agency Commatetools, says many young workers have experienced education and started work during lockdown.
“The communication styles are very different, but they’re much more relaxed,” explains Neptune. “Directness leads to transparency or reliability, but to others it may seem a little more polished.”
Some employees use other approaches to fill the gap. Millie Jyotish, 24, who works in banking, uses Microsoft Copilot, an artificial intelligence tool to draft emails “to make them sound more professional or concise.”
Last year, a Google survey found that 88% of young workers thought that AI could set the right tone for workplace communications. “Sorry,” the Chrome extension for email, suggests highlighting words like “Sorry” and “Really” and removing the message “weaking” the user’s message. Reviewers should also note that it helps to suppress excessive use of exclamation points.
Without a doubt, one of the biggest obstacles to understanding could be the language used by young workers themselves.
A Duolingo survey found that 85% of US Gen Z workers use workplace terminology. Some content creators, such as advertising agency Bam Collective, have created videos that translate this into more general terms (“You Ate” means “You did a great job.”
Roxana Dobrescu, Chief Human Resources Officer at Commercialtools, watches the play in her own workforce. One employee recently filed a complaint with HR because “another colleague said there was no Liz.” It was also considered passive aggressive when Dobresch used smiley emojis with his red cheeks. This was not intended.
And how do you translate “it sounds like your problem” into speaking in the office? “I believe it’s within your responsibility, but I’m happy to be able to support a place that makes sense.”
