You know you have a bad boss if...

Bosses, beware! When you talk to your staff using business management jargon, it not only alienates your employees but also makes them perceive you as being untrustworthy and weak, according to a survey by the British organization YouGov.
We hear them 24/7.

Perhaps most alarming of all, jargon causes confusion and can lead to low morale. Fully 42 percent of those surveyed agreed that jargon causes misunderstanding about roles and responsibilities, reports Reuters. In addition, 37 percent said that business jargon led to mistrust and encouraged a feeling of inadequacy. Managers must be using such terms a lot since nearly 40 percent of the 2,900 who were polled said it is on the rise in their offices. A whopping 60 percent said they would like to work in a jargon-free zone. Meanwhile, most managers are clueless. More than half--55 percent--believe using such language is not a problem. But clearly it is if using such phrases becomes an obstacle to understanding as that can have a real impact on individual performance and the organization's productivity.

10 Gobbledygook Phrases Bosses Should Never Use:
1. Blue-sky thinking: Idealistic or visionary ideas that do not always have a practical application.
2. Get our ducks in a row: Making sure all arrangements are efficiently made.
3. Brain dump: To tell everything you know about a particular topic.
4. Think outside the box: Don't limit your thinking to within your job description; be creative.
5. Joined-up thinking: Taking into account how things affect each other and not looking at something in isolation.

Find out the surprising top two workplace jokes--and why your coworkers may be laughing at YOU.

6. Drilling down: Getting more detail about a particular issue.
7. Push the envelope: Improve performance by going beyond commonly accepted boundaries.
8. The helicopter view: An overview.
9. Low-hanging fruit: The easiest targets.
10. At the end of the day: Something you say before you say what you believe to be the most important fact of a situation.
(Source: BBC News)

The No. 1 Most Irritating Cliché
We hear them 24/7. But at the end of the day, which cliché makes you want to scream? With all due respect, figuring this out is not rocket science.

At least, that's what a group called the Plain English Campaign thought. Led by John Lister, it surveyed more than 5,000 English-speaking people in 70 countries to determine the most annoying clichés of all time.

And the No. 1 most annoying cliché is: "at the end of the day."

And that is so right! There is nothing more annoying than a serious business executive standing before a room of bored employees droning on about "at the end of the day....blah blah blah." Folks just stop listening when those words are uttered.

Which is exactly Lister's point about clichés. "When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message--assuming there is one," he told The Associated Press. "Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ringtone on your phone."

Since he surveyed people in 70 countries, Lister expected geographical variations. He was surprised. The same tired old phrases are universally annoying around the world.

The Most Irritating Clichés:

At the end of the day

At this moment in time

The constant use of "like," as if it were a form of punctuation

With all due respect
Irritating Cliché Runners-Up:

24/7

absolutely

address the issue

awesome

ballpark figure

bear with me

between a rock and a hard place

blue-sky thinking

bottom line

crack troops

glass half full (or half empty)

I hear what you're saying

in terms of

it's not rocket science

literally

move the goal posts

on a weekly basis

ongoing

singing from the same hymn sheet

the fact of the matter is

thinking outside the box

to be honest with you

touch base
Founded in 1979, the Plain English Campaign is an independent group that campaigns against clichés, jargon, and obfuscation, particularly in official and public documents.

Thinking and Working Smarter, how to relax during office hours

I would say that it is not always easy to relax at work. There are many pressures that we have to deal with. Not only do we have to be there but also we have to do things that sometimes make us a little uneasy or tense. This is extremely normal and there is no reason to get worked up. There are helpful ways of thinking and working smarter so that you can relax during office hours.

The first thing that you need to do is keep your time management on the right course. You have to be organized and prepared for each day as it comes. You need to be ready for the challenges that are going to lie ahead of you. Many times we have to figure out what we have time for in the day and stick to a routine. We should never push ourselves too far and try and do more that what we can get done in a day.

Do not take on more work than what you can handle because this is only going to add to the tension of work. Having a good idea of what you can fit into each day will help you relax because you are not going to be pushing yourself too much or over stretching your limits to what you can get done. Never put too much work on yourself to the point that you are getting worked up over it. Ask for help if you need it!

Getting exercise at work and at home is going to help you relax as well. You may not be able to move around a lot at work. However you can do little things that will help you move around and get your energy flowing again. Doing little things like getting up and walking to the water cooler, leg lifts, stretching and side bends can help you relieve stress at work and get you to relax more.

When you are at home, you should plan out a regular routine that will give you exercise and help you feel better about not only the way that you look but the way that you feel as well. Having a good exercise plan will help you achieve your goal of being more relaxed and able to get more work accomplished too.

Do not be afraid to share a joke or conversation with your co-workers. Having co-workers that you can communicate and have fun with is essential. You need to make sure that you are able to talk to them about business related issues as well as have fun with them from time to time. This will keep things light and fresh at work and you will have less time to focus on the stress that can sometimes be accredited to your job.

If you think that the stress of work is getting to be too much, you may want to talk to your doctor. You may want to tell him or her about your feelings and see if they can help you to relax some. Medication and diet can often times be the right encouragement to get you back on track and get you to be more laid back at work.

Being too serious and not letting yourself have some time off from time to time can make for a very stressful work situation. You need to do what is best for you and your body when it comes to having stress and tension that is building up. Having a little time for laughing is going to make you feel more comfortable at work and allow you to rid your body of stress with humor.

Thinking and working smarter avoid the trap of gossip on the job

You will find that when it comes to the job, you are going to have to deal with things like gossip. Gossip can be harmful and hurtful. You should not allow yourself to engaged in gossip, even though it is really fun to hear the things that are going around or engaging in spreading gossip, you will find that it might hurt someone who is your friend and then you'll have to deal with making it right. You shouldn't waste your time trying to justify what you have said because someone overheard you. You will find that those who suffer from low self esteem engage in gossip. They feel the need to belong.

For those who are leaders, you will naturally be able to avoid the entrapment of gossiping on the job. You will find that there are people who just naturally don't care about gossip. You will find that there are so many things that you can do to avoid gossip at the work. You will find that if you do some things you will be able to really enjoy your life.

The first thing that you will want to do is stop yourself from telling other people things that you have heard. You will want to make sure that you either walk away or go and repeat it to yourself while in a personal space like your car. This place has to be somewhere that no one else is. You will also find that if you can't control yourself from talking about others, then you should seek medical treatment. There are a lot of people who see a professional doctor to help them through their mental and emotional issues so that they don't gossip anymore.

You should also think about seeking refuge in your religion. There are many Christian religions, as well as, other religions who think that gossip is the worst thing that you can do. It's a sin. For those who are into their religion, you will find that you will want to use the faith to make you control your self destructive behavior, including gossip. Gossip is considered self destructive, because there is nothing good that can come from it.

You may find that there is nothing that can stop you from talking about others or spreading gossip, but until you end up hurting someone can you get the message. You will find that there are plenty of things that you can do to make others notice you; however, if you aren't getting positive notice, then you won't want the attention. You should not boast on gossiping because it will only hurt you. You'll find that there are many things that you can do from gossiping, including losing your job.

You will find that gossiping is not just harmful to others emotional state, but it can be harmful to your career. You can lose it all from your harmful gossiping. You will find that there are things that you can do to get through the gossiping, but just walking away. When someone tries to get you into gossiping, you'll want to make yourself aware of ways to get out of it. These things are like making a joke and walking away, or you might just want to tell your workers that you just aren't into gossiping. Even if you learn to let go of spreading the gossip, you don't want to hear it. You are above gossiping and the faster that you realize that, the better off you will be. Gossiping is rough for everyone and it can ruin a lot of people's lives. Don't gossip for the sake of your own self worth.