Business jargon may be loathed by many, but as occupational psychologists we do believe it has its place in creating a community and helping people to understand complicated technical issues (‘Jargon: War of words’, Personnel Today, 7 April).
Rather than cutting jargon out of the workplace, it’s worth looking at the negative implications and balancing these against its benefits. We wouldn’t, for example, advocate eradicating Italian just because some English people don’t understand it. All jargon users should be sensitive to what others – customers in particular – might understand, but no-one wants a business version of Esperanto.
Justin Spray, director, Mendas
