42 trending HR buzzwords

1. Employee experience

Employee experience, or EX, refers to how employees feel about an organization and how they were treated throughout their employment. The employee experience refers to all touchpoints with the company, including the hiring process, employment and employment exit. It is different than employee engagement, which focuses solely on current employment.

Companies that focus on the employee and provide a positive experience realize many benefits, including the following:

• more productive employees
• increased quality of work
• higher employee retention rates
• lower absenteeism rates
• improved customer relations

Learn how to build an effective employee experience strategy.

2. The Great Resignation

The COVID-19 pandemic was a time of change for the way people worked, and millions of people began quitting their jobs in 2021, starting what is now known as the Great Resignation. Forty-eight million people voluntarily left their jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some experts argue that the Great Resignation is still ongoing, with 4.2 million people quitting in August 2022 -- showing little change from previous months. The average of 4 million people quitting each month tops the record set in 2019, which saw an average of 3.5 million.

Reasons people quit their jobs, according to a Pew Research survey, included the following:

• job insecurity
• higher pay
• better work-life balance
• no opportunities for advancement
• new career path
• child or elderly relative care
• not enough flexibility
• relocation
• feeling disrespected at work
• number of hours
• lack of benefits

3. Quiet quitting

Quiet quitting refers to doing the bare minimum to get the job done and setting clear boundaries to establish work-life balance. This means that employees are still doing what is required of them but are rejecting hustle culture to stand out with their superiors. There is a clear separation of work and personal lives.

Quiet quitting may also be a sign that an employee is not happy or burned out. It was featured in a TikTok video and gained popularity, causing debate about whether it meant an employee was feeling burned out or looking for healthy boundaries.

4. Quiet firing

Quiet firing -- like quiet quitting -- also addresses the employee-employer relationship but looks at the management side. Instead of directly firing a person, quiet firing refers to treating an employee so poorly or disengaging them to the point where they quit on their own.

Examples of how management can quiet fire an employee include the following:

• little or no salary increase
• micromanaging
• lack of respect
• leaving employee out of meetings
• singling employee out to answer tough questions in meetings
• reduced hours
• little time off
• reduced hours without explanation
• increased workload without increased pay
• leaving out of social gatherings
• keeping the employee out of the loop
• low pay

A manager may quiet fire an employee by giving them the worst tasks and criticizing small mistakes. Quiet firing is a method of getting rid of an employee that a manager may not care for without the possibility of lawsuits, as firing requires documentation leading to the termination. If an employee quits on their own, the manager would not have to fill out this documentation.

5. Quick quitting

As U.S. workers get comfortable leaving their jobs, quick quitting has gained popularity with people leaving their jobs after working there for less than a year. People are feeling more comfortable finding a new job if they are unhappy versus sticking it out for a longer period. People are quitting for better pay and work-life balance, so they keep looking for better opportunities.

Quick quitting has increased over the past couple of years, according to LinkedIn's Workforce Insights.

6. Anti-perks

Anti-perks are benefits that employees don't care about because they feel they could harm productivity or their well-being. The term gained popularity when developer relations advocate Jessica Rose sent out a tweet asking about anti-perks in tech jobs. She said these perks may sound good but are a no from employees.

Some examples of anti-perks may be the following:

• free dinner
• catered lunches
• massages
• nap rooms
• video games
• unlimited vacation
• fitness rooms
• pet-friendly offices
• mandatory fun events
• alcohol

Employees are diverse. Some may enjoy these benefits, but others say they want bigger benefits, such as better pay, positive work culture and respect. Unlimited vacation may seem nice, but some employees say that it gets companies off the hook from paying unused vacation time when an employee leaves.

7. Digital nomad

With more remote work options, people are moving from place to place, living in a nomadic way. Digital nomads can work anywhere with internet availability, including the following:

• libraries
• hotels
• temporary housing
• cafes
• coworking spaces
• recreational vehicles

Some digital nomads may only do this temporarily, but others may take more time to travel between countries. Some countries are even advertising digital nomad visas to encourage people to live in their country temporarily and work. These visas allow them to receive foreign income for long periods.

Some of these countries and territories offering nomad visas are the following:

• Anguilla
• Bahamas
• Bermuda
• Cayman Islands
• Croatia
• Costa Rica
• Curaçao
• Dominica
• Estonia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Iceland
• Mexico
• Norway
• Portugal
• Taiwan

Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of remote work.

8. Industry hopping

Industry hopping involves more than switching jobs; it involves moving sectors. Forty-eight percent of people quitting their jobs in the past few years found jobs in different sectors, according to a McKinsey survey. The same survey found people are also looking for higher-paying careers with more flexibility.

There are many affordable educational opportunities to help people switch industries, such as boot camp coding courses, online classes and certifications.

Learn whether a degree or certification is right for you here.

9. Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is how a person understands, perceives, uses, handles and manages their emotions. People with higher emotional intelligence recognize their emotions and use tactics -- such as taking time to slow down, performing self-care and stepping away from the situation -- to guide their behavior.

The five components of emotional intelligence are the following:

1. self-regulation
2. self-awareness
3. social skills
4. empathy
5. motivation

Employers often test emotional intelligence to ensure employees can handle stressful situations in leadership.

10. Skills gap

The difference between the skills employers want in a candidate and the experience the candidate has is called the skills gap. Work is constantly changing due to emerging technologies, such as machine learning, AI and automation, which change the skills employers need. Because of this, there is now a skills gap.

Eighty-seven percent of companies worldwide said they are already facing a skills gap or will in the near future, according to a survey from McKinsey. To manage this skills gaps, companies are reskilling and training existing employees, shifting workers to new roles, hiring freelancers or contractors, hiring talent and acquiring other firms.

11. Soft skills

Soft skills are not tied to one specific job and are interpersonal skills to help people work with others. Soft skills help employees fit into the workplace and include aspects such as the following:

• attitude
• flexibility
• motivation
• personality
• manners
• communication
• time management
• problem-solving
• teamwork
• leadership

Soft skills are typically the reasons employers promote or keep employees because technical skills -- or hard skills -- can be taught and are easier to learn. Hard skills are specific to the job, such as understanding coding for a developer, while soft skills apply to all jobs, such as problem-solving.

Learn six DevOps soft skills and how they drive success.

12. Ghost jobs

Ghost jobs are postings that companies have no intention of filling in the near future. These postings may stay online after someone is already hired for a position, may be posted early for a position in the future or the job may not exist at all.

Companies do this to gauge the talent pool, and ghost jobs are a way of looking for talent. Recruiters may also use ghost jobs to keep resumes of qualified candidates so they have contacts if an employee leaves or a new position opens.

13. Hustle culture

Hustle culture refers to the mentality that employees must work more than normal hours to advance their careers. The term hustle means to push someone to move faster and aggressively, according to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary. Hustle culture is also called grind or burnout culture.

Hustle culture encourages employees to work longer hours and get work done at a more rapid pace. Employees that buy into this culture may think about work during their time off.

Quiet quitting has been termed as rejecting hustle culture with a better work-life balance by setting boundaries with work.

14. Labor hoarding

Labor hoarding describes when companies keep employees during tough economic times -- such as a recession -- instead of laying them off because they feel it will save money in the long term. Layoffs may subside some costs in the immediate future, but when the economy recovers, companies spend large amounts of money on recruiting, rehiring and training staff. Labor hoarding allows companies to avoid these additional costs.

The pandemic changed the way companies think about layoffs, according to a survey by Employ and Jobvite. Companies are more reluctant to let employees go after being shorthanded during the pandemic and during the Great Recession.

15. Gaslighting

Merriam-Webster named gaslighting as the word of the year for 2022. Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation to mislead someone. The gaslighter forces a person to question their own version of events, causing self-doubt. Typically, gaslighting happens over an extended period and the victim questions their own thoughts, becomes confused and loses confidence. Gaslighting can lead to emotional and mental instability, and the victim may become dependent on their gaslighter.

The term came from the 1938 play called Gaslight, where a protagonist husband convinces his wife she is going crazy even though she isn’t. For example, the husband tells his wife that she is imagining the dimming of the gas light in their home.

Fake news, trolls, conspiracy theories and deep fakes can be considered forms of gaslighting and are common in today’s news cycle.

Gaslighting can happen in the workplace. Signs of gaslighting include:

• Hearing persistent negative accounts of performance
• Questioning perception of reality in the workplace
• Hearing negative gossip
• Pointing to mistakes that are not true
• Being told something wasn’t said when it was
• Being criticized publicly but hearing praise in private
• Feeling belittled about emotions, perceptions and efforts
• Excluding someone from meetings or events related to their job

16. Side gig or side hustle

A side gig -- or side hustle -- is a job that a person works in addition to their primary job to provide supplemental income. Sometimes referred to as moonlighting, a side gig can be full-time, part-time or freelance work. Around 45% of Americans have a side hustle, according to a survey from Self, and 30% of people with side gigs say they need the extra income to cover expenses.

Side gigs grew in popularity when the cost of living increased and wages did not keep up with the rising inflation. With the rise of work flexibility, some people can complete these side jobs from home.

The creator and gig economies enable people to earn money on the side. Some people choose to continue their full-time job until their side gig can grow to cover their needed income. With creator jobs, the person decides on the tasks and compensation. Gig economy jobs are company standardized with set payments, such as Uber or Instacart.

Examples of side gigs include:

• accounting
• delivery driving
• fitness coach
• freelance writing
• graphic design
• photography
• selling clothes or crafts
• software development
• tutoring
• video blogger
• web developer

17. Green-collar job

A green-collar job refers to employment in the environmental sector. Green jobs use environmentally friendly policies, designs and technology to improve sustainability and conservation. Job opportunities in the clean energy industry grew twice as fast as the national average -- growing at 46% versus the norm of 27% in the first eight months of 2022, according to Advanced Energy Economy’s report. The passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act will advance the clean energy workforce, the same report states.

Green-collar jobs focus on conserving the environment, decreasing pollution and improving energy efficiency. Types of green-collar jobs include areas such as:

• agriculture and forestry
• alternative fuels
• carbon capture
• clean electricity
• conservation
• energy sourcing
• engineering
• environmental science
• government regulation
• public transportation
• recycling
• research and design
• solar and wind power
• waste management

Learn about climate tech vs. clean tech.

18. Quiet hiring

Quieting hiring is a term that describes businesses adding new skills and filling gaps without new full-time employees.

Employers may give current employees new roles or hire short-term help -- such as contractors and freelancers. Moving employees to short-term roles can fill immediate needs and help companies prioritize their business needs. But there can be mixed reactions to this type of hiring. Some people are excited to learn more about a company while others feel they are being spread too thin with more responsibilities for the same pay.

19. Rage-applying

Rage-applying is the act of a person applying to several jobs when fed up with their current role. Rage-applying is a term from TikTok, coined when a user named Redweez (or Red) posted a video saying she applied to 15 jobs because she was unhappy in her role, getting her a significant raise at a new company.

Workers are not afraid to leave their current role for a new job if they are fed up. Nearly 75% of survey respondents from a Lattice Survey study said they were either open to new opportunities or actively looking in the next 6-12 months.

20. Polymath

A polymath is someone with extensive knowledge in various subjects. A polymath is different from a generalist who knows a little bit about various subjects because the polymath has greater knowledge. Another term for polymath is a Renaissance man (or woman).

The term polymath is derived from the Greek root words poly- (meaning many) and manthanein (meaning learn). Some notable polymaths in history include Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Galileo and Thomas Jefferson.

For example, Leonard da Vinci was an amazing artist, mathematician, engineer and inventor. Not only are polymaths knowledgeable on topics, but they also have abundant skills like da Vinci. A modern-day polymath may be athletic and artistic with extensive knowledge of subjects such as history, law, science and literature.

21. Tech shame

Tech shame refers to feeling judged for having technical issues at work. Tech shame can keep employees from engaging in meetings or speaking up when there is a problem. Younger employees are more likely than older employees to experience tech shame according to a recent HP survey of 10,000 office workers worldwide. One in five younger workers felt shame, whereas only one in 25 older workers did.

22. Rolling recession

In a typical recession, organizations reduce their workforce and consumers slow down spending, which causes the economy to shrink. In a soft-landing recession, the economy slows down to a steady pace with limited labor market cuts while waiting for inflation to decrease.

In 2022 and 2023, news about a recession was met with some contradicting statistics. As of February 2023, the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.4% is at its lowest since May 1969, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

Economists are using the term rolling recession to describe economic conditions. A rolling recession does not involve one large job layoff across industries, but instead when sectors take turns making cuts. In late 2022 and early 2023, tech layoffs dominated news cycles with big tech companies laying off thousands of employees. However, other employment sectors remained strong.

23. Quiet thriving

Quiet thriving is an alternative to the term quiet quitting. With quiet quitting, people do the bare minimum of their jobs to get by. With quiet thriving, people make changes to their workday to shift their mentality to feel more engaged.

Instead of focusing on negative aspects of their jobs, people turn to the positive and make notes of what they enjoy. Ways to quiet thrive in a job include:

• Craft the job with management to do more likable tasks.
• Join a committee or group to feel connected.
• Make friends with coworkers.
• Create an accomplishment list and keep adding to it.
• Get advice from a career expert or mentor.
• Set clear boundaries with work by setting firm deadlines.

24. The Great Regret

The Great Resignation has led to a new trending term – the Great Regret or Great Remorse. During the Great Resignation, 50.5 million people quit their jobs in 2022 and 47.8 million in 2021 for better pay, work environment and work-life balance, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, a recent study of people who quit their jobs during the Great Resignation shows that one in four people now regrets it and has resignation remorse, according to Joblist.

The same study also found 42% of respondents said their new job is not meeting expectations, and 40% also stated that finding a new job was harder than they expected.

25. Hush trips

Hush trips involve an employee working from a vacation destination and not revealing their location to their managers. Because more people are working remotely, they don’t think or feel it’s necessary to tell their employer when working from another location. People are working remotely from various destinations to take advantage of leisure activities after work.

There are a few concerns when employees take hush trips, such as secrecy. Employees that can’t be honest with employers may have more issues. Security is another concern as employees may take company-issued computers out of town and use unsecured Wi-Fi networks. There may also be tax implications for companies depending on the length of time the employee works in certain states or countries.

26. Toxic workplace

Toxic workplace environments harbor negative behaviors, such as manipulation, belittling, yelling, and discrimination. These behaviors make it hard for employees to do their jobs and work with coworkers.

This culture can lead to low productivity, conflict, lack of trust and high-stress levels. Employees may feel anxious, depressed or defensive. Employees may also find it difficult to speak up because of fears of punishment, rejection or humiliation.

Signs of a toxic workplace include:

• No room for mistakes
• Lack of trust
• Role confusion
• Excessive stress
• Office gossip
• High employee turnover rates
• Unhealthy work boundaries
• Lack of career support
• Low morale and negativity

27. Great Betrayal

The Great Betrayal differs from the Great Resignation, which was about finding a better job. The Great Betrayal refers to employees feeling that the loyalty and stability of the workplace are not always what they seem.

Workers are choosing to freelance over full-time employment to enjoy freedom and flexibility. This mindset became more popular when massive tech layoffs started in late 2022. Employees felt there was no stability or security, no matter the job performance. The feeling is also fueled by the tight labor market, recession talks and financial concerns.

As laid-off employees started posting about their job loss on social media, others began questioning whether their employers are as supportive as they claim. Employees are turning to the freelance market for more control.

28. Proximity bias

Proximity bias describes the tendency of leadership to favor employees in the office. Managers with proximity bias view remote workers as less committed and productive than those in the office. The outdated assumption that people are more productive in the office than at home is a key driver of proximity bias.

Examples of proximity bias include:

• Excluding remote employees for important meetings or events
• Offering interesting projects to onsite employees only
• Evaluating the onsite employee work higher than remote employees
• Giving onsite employees more promotions or career advancement opportunities

29. Quittok

A new TikTok trend follows people on camera quitting their jobs. The new hashtag #quittok is becoming popular as people post these videos to the social media platform for others to see.

Coined as “loud quitting” instead of quiet quitting, these videos are garnering mixed reviews. While some people enjoy the videos and may take inspiration, HR professionals discourage this practice. The risky practice leaves a digital footprint and can be found on the internet for years to come, which may affect the person’s future employment.

30. Productivity theater             

Productivity theater is a way for an employee to seem more productive by hacking digital communications, such as Slack or Teams. The employee wants to seem more available and busier than they are. They may appear to be working overtime or longer hours than in actuality.

Productivity theater isn’t just for remote workers. In-office employees may also engage in productivity theater.

Here are some examples of productivity theater:

• Responding to an email or instant message quickly.
• Keeping a laptop screen active when not working.
• Scheduling an email to be sent at a future time.
• Attending unnecessary meetings.
• Completing extra research to stay busy.

31. Workfluencer

Workfluencers share work content on social media platforms such as TikTok and LinkedIn. Since more people work remotely, employees don’t feel they have the normal “water cooler” opportunities to discuss work with other coworkers, so they are turning to social media to talk about frustrations, advice and day-to-day work lives. Some topics are controversial such as pay transparency, and some posts are behind the scenes to give career advice to followers based on how they handled a work issue such as getting a raise or dealing with difficult coworkers.

These workfluencers are turning these videos into a side hustle to earn extra income. The hashtag #CareerTok has more than 1.3 billion views.

32. Perk-cession

Companies are scaling back on some of their fun benefits or perks – known as the perk-cession. These benefits once helped increase employee satisfaction and loyalty. Companies are doing these to prepare for a potential recession because benefits and perks tend to coincide with the strength of the economy.

Examples of perks companies are cutting back include:

• Free food
• Commuter benefits
• Fertility assistance
• Fitness classes
• Pet insurance
• Barista-brewed coffee
• Free laundry and dry cleaning

Companies offered these benefits when competing for talent, but with financial cutbacks, they may not be hiring or feel losing these perks could save money.

33. Social loafing

Social loafing is a psychological term that describes how people exert less effort when working in a group setting versus working alone. Reasons for social loafing include lack of motivation, no individual recognition and lack of accountability.

To prevent social loafing, divide tasks out and give individual assignments for accountability and set expectations. Be sure to recognize the team for their efforts. Avoid making groups too large where employees have a hard time dividing out tasks.

34. Glass cliff

Glass cliff describes when women are promoted to leadership positions during difficult times, such as during a company crisis or recession. These settings can position women for failure. The concept of a glass cliff expands on the notion of the "glass ceiling," which alludes to obstacles that women frequently encounter when trying to rise to leadership positions.

The term was originally coined in 2005 by researchers at the University of Exeter in the U.K. They found that promoting women to leadership often comes with negative associations and is compared to standing on the cliff's edge – they fail and fall off.

Examples of recent leadership promotions that were considered glass cliffs include retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond’s CEO Sue Gove and Twitter’s CEO Linda Yaccarino.

35. Unretirement

During the Great Resignation, many older workers decided to retire early. Now, these workers are choosing to return to the workforce and “unretire.” Reasons for unretirement include the costs of inflation, finding a new sense of purpose and numerous employment choices.

These employees may return as consultants, mentors or contractors sharing their experience with others.

36. Empathy gap

Empathy gap is a cognitive bias that describes when people find it difficult to understand or relate to the experience and feelings of others.

Having an empathy gap can make it challenging to understand others from different cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic levels or marginalized groups. People may find it hard to relate to or understand someone going through a certain emotion for a circumstance they have not personally experienced.

37. Body doubling

Body doubling is a technique to help people with ADHD focus and complete a task. Body doubling involves having another person around either physically or virtually to help the other person get started or focus on a task.

The body double doesn’t help with the actual work, but instead keeps the person on task by working simultaneously and holding the person accountable by checking in.

38. Quiet ambition

Quiet quitting started the debate on work ethic and personal life balance. Now, quiet ambition describes a switch in person’s goals from job success determining fulfillment to finding careers supporting their personal life.

A person doesn’t work strictly for moving up in a company or improving the bottom line, but instead working toward personal dreams and fulfillment. They look for a career to fit around their life versus shuffling their personal life around their job.

39. Talent debt

Talent debt describes a group of disengaged employees that are unproductive and expensive to retain. During the Great Resignation, workers left positions for new jobs, and companies held on to workers to help cover the loss of talent. Employers fought to retain workers, but many are disengaged and underperforming.

The amount of disengaged U.S. employees is the highest it has been in 10 years, according to a Gallup report. The lack of enthusiasm is creating talent debt.

40. Threat rigidity

Threat rigidity describes the tendency of businesses to respond to problems by stifling innovation and concentrating on what has worked in the past. The drawback of threat rigidity is that it ignores any changes in the business environment, which can limit a company’s growth and innovation.

Organizational psychologist Barry Staw first coined the term in the early 1980s. The term has been used lately as CEOs implement strict return-to-work requirements that seem out of touch with their workforce and their needs.

41. Loud quitting

Around one in five global employees are disengaged or loud quitting, according to a Gallup report. Loud quitting is different than quiet quitting because employees aren’t afraid to show their unhappiness at work and are directly acting out by taking actions that can harm the organization.

Some actions include bad mouthing superiors, completing tasks incorrectly and leaving online negative comments about the company on sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn.

42. The Big Stay

After the mass exodus of employees during the Great Resignation, more employees are sticking with their jobs in 2023. Coined “The Big Stay,” the next phase of the employee landscape started in 2023. 

The rate of Americans leaving their jobs is down nearly 5% from 2022. Job openings also fell around 20% in March 2023 compared to March 2022, according to an ADP Research Institute report.