< PreviousHere’s Frazer’s collection of the weird and wonderful ‘news’ that came his way over the last few weeks. And finally The world of Frazer Modern jargon Ever heard of the phrase “duck shuffler?” No? It’s one of a plethora of new, peculiar expressions making their way into modern office jargon. Following a study into workplace slang by Meeting Canary, the term — which refers to someone who ruins things when the office has its ducks in a row — sits on a list of novel jargon created by colleagues. Other phrases include the term ‘meanderthal’, for someone who is slow to get to their point, ‘faulty tasker’, for someone who multi-tasks so much as to get nothing done properly, and ‘negatron’, to refer to the office pessimist. Meanwhile, if you often eat your lunch at your desk, why not embrace the phrase ‘dining el desko’, to bring a little flair to mealtime? While Frazer is amongst the majority in considering workplace jargon a general cringe inducer, at least employees are getting more creative than ‘touch base’! © stock.adobe.com/SecondSide © stock.adobe.com/Studio Romantic Working ‘hardcore’ Placing some thought into how you interact with employees is vital as a business owner. Indeed, an email to staff could cost you hundreds of thousands of pounds, it turns out. We probably all remember one of Musk’s most bizarre emails from 2022 following his purchase of Twitter (now X), in which he sent an ultimatum demanding employees click yes to working “extremely hardcore” or face being let go with three months’ severance pay. Well, that email has now left X to pay hundreds of thousands of euros to an employee. Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ruled that the former senior executive for Twitter was wrongly fired when he declined to click the yes button, with the WRC ordering X to pay the ex-employee €550,000 (more than £460,000) - an Irish record. Not that any of Frazer’s readers would be so foolish as to send an email like Musk’s, but the fine does serve as a solid reminder to keep your head straight when communicating with staff. 50 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk © stock.adobe.com/Eric Hood What’s in a name? Does your name influence your chosen career path? Some seem to think so. After all, the fastest man in the world for many years was Usain Bolt. While occupational surnames are commonplace, think Baker, research from Vestd has revealed which forenames are found most by industry, with certain names dominating the workplace. Amongst male names, Davids are everywhere, being the top name in logistics, healthcare, IT, electronics, local authority, education, manufacturing, finance, and charity/not-for-profit roles, while James is most likely found in HR, retail, legal, hospitality, marketing, technology, property, automotive and construction roles, and Stevens are commonly seen in fashion. For female names, Sarah and Samantha are who you’ll most likely find at work, with the former taking on roles in healthcare, marketing, property, charity/not- for-profit, HR, education, legal, fashion, finance, retail, local authority, logistics and hospitality industries, and the latter working in automotive, electronics, manufacturing, construction, IT, and technology. So, are you a David in finance, or a Sarah in marketing? Well, you’re certainly not alone!East Midlands Business Link Bricks 2024 A celebration of those helping to create the landscape for the next generation EAST MIDLANDS The prestigious East Midlands Bricks Awards are back for 2024! Shining a light on the region’s property and construction industry, this year’s event will take place on Thursday 3rd October, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. The East Midlands Bricks Awards, organised by East Midlands Business Link Magazine, is an independent awards and publicity programme recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the region – from office, industrial and residential schemes, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools. Visit www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk for more information. BUSINESSNext >