No matter what business you are in, there is a culture in your office. The language of the office is fluid, changing as quickly. Keeping up is important because clear communication is the key to success in everything you do. Here a few terms you might have heard but were unclear as to their true meaning:

Office Creeper- a person who sneaks into an office during business hours and steals personal items and equipment.

This is done often in plain view of others who may be confused as to whether or not that person is supposed to be in the office. These criminals are well dressed and pleasant to all staff while in the building.

Butt Calls- These are calls made when someone accidentally sits or their cell phone or an object in their purse accidentally causes the cell phone to call. The recipient of the call will hear nose or the conversation of the accidentally caller with someone else. They are a big problem with people who have phones that have one-touch 911 dialing. These calls plug up the emergency system.

Multicolor Collar Workers:

Gray-collar workers- skilled technicians, emplpyees whose job descriptions combine some white and some blue-collar duties

Black-collar workers- Coal miners and oil workers

Pink-collar workers- Secretaries and other clerical staff

Green-collar workers- Environmentalists

Gold-collar workers- Professionals or those with in-demand skills, also employees over 55

Dog-collar workers- Priests

Open-collar workers- People who work at home

Frayed-collar workers- The working poor or workers having trouble making ends meet

Steel-collar workers- Robots

Masstige: These goods occupy a sweet spot between mass and class. While commanding a premium over conventional products, they are priced well below super premium or old-luxury goods. It’s how you sell an 11 ounce bottle of lotion for $9 instead of $3.29.

Google Bombing: Setting up a large number of Web pages with links that point to a specific Web site so that the site will appear near the top of a Google search

Metrosexual: An urban male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle.

Phantom Load: The electricity consumed by a device when it is turned off. Energy Experts use this term for vcrs and electric clocks which suck power even when turned off.

Marzipan Layer: In a business or professional firm, the level of managers and other senior staff just below the topmost level of directors or partners. It can also be called the marzipan set.

Stop-Loss Job: a job taken to pay one’s bill and stop depletion on one’s savings.

Survival Job: a job taken to make ends meet until something better comes along

GOOD job: a Get Out Of Debt job.

Geezer glut: the large number of seniors that will result from the baby boomer generation aging.

The generation that has grown up with and is completely at home with digital devices and digital culture.

Irritainment: Entertainment and media spectacles that are both annoying and compulsively watchable.

CNN Effect: The negative effect on the economy caused by people staying home to watch CNN or some other news source during a crisis such as a war.

Goomby: A person who hopes for or seeks the removal of some dangerous or unpleasant feature from his or her neighborhood.

Duppie: A depressed urban professional; a person who once had a high-status or high-paying job and must now work in a menial or lower paying job.

Time Porn: Television shows and other media that portray characters as having excessive amounts of spare time.

Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C. is the Host of The Wright Place™ Regional TV Show, seen in 5 million homes in Southern California. She can be reached for questions or comments at www.wrightplacetv.com or 909-635-2040

info@wrightplacetv.com