Things We Are Not Allowed to Say About Work Anymore

A taxonomy of corporate language and the silence it requires

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Episode: 1

Collaboration. Not synergy. Not a partnership. Just...collaboration.

Hustle. Grind. Passion. Sacrifice. They left out the debt.

Engagement. Motivation. Alignment. Culture fit. (Ask what it costs.)

“Core values.” Not yours. Not mine. Just printed words to keep you quiet.

Leadership. Vision. Accountability. Remember when these weren’t quarterly checkboxes?

Burnout. Mental health. Wellness programs. You are allowed to name the machine only after it eats you.

Flexibility. Remote-first. Work-life balance. Contracts disguised as freedom. Sign willingly.

Feedback loops. KPIs. OKRs. Happiness surveys. Smile. Click. Forward. Repeat.

Innovation. Disruption. Thought leadership. Motion disguised as ideas. Keep moving anyway.

Collaboration Teamwork. Synchronicity. Alignment. Stop pretending you understand.

Efficiency. Productivity. Metrics. Everyone has a chart. No one has the pulse.

Engagement. Participation. Recognition. Celebration. You will be measured, quantified, applauded.

Passion. Purpose. Meaning. Words flattened until they feel like corporate wallpaper.

Transparency. Authenticity. Vulnerability. (Only the approved kind. Only when it scales.)

Work-life balance. Integration. Harmony. Synergy. They renamed suffering.

Growth mindset. Resilience. Adaptability. You will bend until the breaking point looks like success.

Mission-driven. Impact-focused. Values-aligned. Everyone’s hiring. No one’s paying.

Efficiency. Happiness. Control. You decide which one is real.

Repeat.

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