'I am an ex-teacher in a corporate job - business jargon is confusing - why don't people say what they mean'
- 2 months ago
A former teacher who now works a corporate job has taken to TikTok to poke fun at confusing business jargon.
Brittany Davila, 34, started working as an executive assistant for a corporate company in June 2023 after giving up her job as a 5th grade teacher.
Since she started, Brittany said she has had to learn dozens of new corporate phrases and words that she never knew existed.
The words "ping," "massage," and "circulate" were the first jargon words Britanny heard in a meeting.
Brittany, who is from Houston, Texas, USA, said: "The first word they used was ping so I wrote that down.
"Then two more, which were circulate and massage.
"I had ideas of what they meant so I thought if I shared these ideas on TikTok, people could help and relate."
Brittany's videos have reached thousands of views with many relating to her experience.
One comment read: "Ngl this is actually really helpful. I never understand these phrases at work."
Another said: "Yes! I've never understood why people say stuff like this."
In her videos, she has poked fun at phrases like "low hanging fruit," "run it up the flagpole" and "build the plane as you fly it."
She added: "There's just so many words and they all confuse me just as much.
"I always think 'Just say what you actually mean'. I don't get why we have to deep dive into the words.
"And to add to that, the same words can have different meanings in different corporations. It's too much!"
Whilst Brittany says she doesn't hate corporate jargon, she does feel like it creates a barrier for people trying to enter the corporate world.
She said: "Adjusting to it is hard. In teaching you make it fun and creative and you are allowed to put personality into your work.
"I imagine this jargon is just part of the system to separate worlds.
"I don’t know if they know it but as someone not in the corporate world, it feels like there is a divide."
Brittany finds the jargon very silly but thinks that there must be a necessity to it.
She said: "I've only been working there for nine months, but I do think it must be necessary for them.
"Maybe in leadership roles when dealing with million dollar clients you need a more advanced way of communicating.
"I do wonder if that is how they talk in their day to day lives.
"I've been talking to 10 year olds my whole career so there's never been any need for a new kind of language for me!"
Brittany Davila, 34, started working as an executive assistant for a corporate company in June 2023 after giving up her job as a 5th grade teacher.
Since she started, Brittany said she has had to learn dozens of new corporate phrases and words that she never knew existed.
The words "ping," "massage," and "circulate" were the first jargon words Britanny heard in a meeting.
Brittany, who is from Houston, Texas, USA, said: "The first word they used was ping so I wrote that down.
"Then two more, which were circulate and massage.
"I had ideas of what they meant so I thought if I shared these ideas on TikTok, people could help and relate."
Brittany's videos have reached thousands of views with many relating to her experience.
One comment read: "Ngl this is actually really helpful. I never understand these phrases at work."
Another said: "Yes! I've never understood why people say stuff like this."
In her videos, she has poked fun at phrases like "low hanging fruit," "run it up the flagpole" and "build the plane as you fly it."
She added: "There's just so many words and they all confuse me just as much.
"I always think 'Just say what you actually mean'. I don't get why we have to deep dive into the words.
"And to add to that, the same words can have different meanings in different corporations. It's too much!"
Whilst Brittany says she doesn't hate corporate jargon, she does feel like it creates a barrier for people trying to enter the corporate world.
She said: "Adjusting to it is hard. In teaching you make it fun and creative and you are allowed to put personality into your work.
"I imagine this jargon is just part of the system to separate worlds.
"I don’t know if they know it but as someone not in the corporate world, it feels like there is a divide."
Brittany finds the jargon very silly but thinks that there must be a necessity to it.
She said: "I've only been working there for nine months, but I do think it must be necessary for them.
"Maybe in leadership roles when dealing with million dollar clients you need a more advanced way of communicating.
"I do wonder if that is how they talk in their day to day lives.
"I've been talking to 10 year olds my whole career so there's never been any need for a new kind of language for me!"