9 January 2019

Jargon and other issues affecting work motivation

undermining work motivation

For an organisation to ensure that it is running smoothly and that its objectives are being met to the best of its ability, there must be strong communication between management and employees.. This implies that management must ensure that less jargon is used on a daily basis with employees, to avoid miscommunication. that may be detrimental to the success of the organisation.

Table of contents

What is technical jargon?

Slang is the specific language belonging to a particular trade, profession, or group. This is vocabulary that is difficult for people outside that area of expertise to understand.

Slang can be useful, but not when discussing non-technical topics.

Disadvantages of using jargon at work

Jargon can hinder the achievement of the purpose of sharing information or ideas in the organisation. In situations where communication is insufficient, employee morale declines, and they lose their Motivation and serious consequences can begin to appear for the organisation, such as high employee turnover, poorer employee relations, the waste of organisational resources, or a negative impact on company productivity.

And it's because everything related to communication should be carefully planned. Emails, from their content and frequency to the way content is presented or the number of people in copy (is it really necessary to copy everyone?), The newsletter, the messages in networks or the internal newsletter and, of course, the meetings. Ineffective meetings affect group morale by being seen as a waste of time and a lack of respect, simultaneously.

employees are an integral component of an organisation, and as such, Communications must be careful, both in terms of regulating the use of jargon and in the following aspects:

  • Identify the audience and speak their language. It's not the same communicating with the technical team as it is with the sales department or HR professionals.
  • Avoid using complicated expressions in communications and keep it simple.. It's amazing how well plain language is understood. Unlike the effect achieved by grandiloquent formulas or technical jargon, people tend to pay more attention when they can actually follow the thread of the conversation.
  • Be brief. Short sentences are easier to understand than long and complicated ones. Short speeches are more memorable than long ones. It makes it easier for employees to grasp the essence of the communication's content.

In addition to these recommendations, which can be applied to companies across all industries, it is worthwhile to be clear about the objectives being pursued with communication. Starting from the goal, it is easier to work on building a clear, direct, and authentic message, that transmits the information and emotion that is desired to resonate with the audience. On occasion, there will be room for technical jargon, and on many more occasions, it will be better to replace those terms with expressions more widely known by everyone.

Edenred Spain