6 Words and Phrases You Should Never Say at Work

The following topics will be discussed in this post.

• ‘Legit’
• ‘OMG, shut up!’
• ‘$#!%’
• ‘Oopsies’
• ‘Dude’, ‘bro’
• ‘Chicks’ or ‘Girl’

So you have finally fooled a well-meaning human resources person to rubber stamp your suitability for a nice job. That’s the easy part! The hard part is making sure that you look like you’re meant for the job and not on your couch watching the latest episode of Rick and Morty.

You need to speak like the rest of your serious colleagues and restrain your inner child when you’re in work. That means you must cut out some words and phrases that will give you away!

‘Legit’

No, it does not make you sound smart at all. You’re not talking to your frat buddy; your boss doesn’t think her proposal to grow revenue by 50% is ‘legit’.

Cut it out now! Workplace language requires you to be civil, direct and clear, as there are mannerisms that someone who isn’t local or in your age bracket would not understand, thereby causing confusing, while making you look quite juvenile.

‘OMG, shut up!’

This might come as a surprise, but you cannot tell your co-workers to shut up. If you are genuinely surprised at work, try not to say something stupid like “shut up!” Find your inner college graduate and go with ‘wow’, ‘interesting!’ and other more suitable phrases.

Don’t be that guy that everyone thinks should be in the mail room instead.

‘$#!%’

You simply cannot curse at work, that’s as likely to get you fired as photocopying prints of your butt using the department copier. Trash mouths don’t get promoted, and you’re more likely to land in hot water.

Wait till you’re riding home and on the phone with your friends before unleashing your inner swear mouth.

‘Oopsies’

Look into the mirror and repeat five times – ‘If I make a mistake, I will not go with ‘oopsies’ or ‘my bad’.

These are literally two of the dumbest ways you can own up to a screw-up at the office. Be a professional and say things like ‘Sincere apologies’, ‘My mistake, I’m sorry’ rather than something that would leave you looking for a new job.

‘Dude’, ‘bro’

Your dude is at the bar, your brother is with your mother, Gary in accounting is not your bro! Call him Gary, just like everyone else, not dude or bro or my man.

If you feel the need to call someone bro or dude, resist the urge till you’re back with the guys.

‘Chicks’ or ‘Girl’

Remember everything you just found out about calling Gary bro, turns out Rose doesn’t like you calling her “chick” or “girl.” This is especially worse when you’re referring to a superior colleague, and you could be reported to Human Resources in the process.

Don’t be that guy, refer to people by their first names, and leave the nonwork stuff at home.