Gainesville, FL — If employees are having to “circle back,” “ladder up” or look for “low-hanging fruit,” it might be hurting their morale, researchers say.
A team from the University of Florida and George Washington University surveyed more than 1,800 participants who were given the scenario of starting a new job. Half the participants received jargon-filled emails regarding “intranets” and “EFT” payments. The other participants were sent emails with plain language.
The participants who received the jargon-filled messages found it more difficult to process information and reported feeling insecure and less likely to ask for help.
“It doesn’t just make them feel bad about the information they’ve been given,” study co-author Olivia Bullock, assistant professor of advertising at UF, said in a press release, “it makes them feel bad about themselves.”
Results also show that older participants reported more difficulty processing the jargon-filled emails but were more likely to ask for clarification. Younger participants were less likely to ask for or seek help.
“You need people to be willing to collaborate, share ideas and look for more information if they don’t understand something at work,” Bullock said. “And jargon might actually be impeding that information flow across teams.
“Always reduce jargon. The benefit of using jargon doesn’t outweigh the cost.”
The study was published in the International Journal of Business Communication.