Absenteeism - A habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism refers to unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer

Accessibility - The quality of being easy to approach, reach, enter, speak with, use, or understand

Accidental Death & Dismemberment - the coverage/financial benefits provided when a policyholder accidentally passes away or is dismembered.

Accrued Leave - The number of leave hours that an employee earns according to the benefits and policies of their employer.

Action Item - A documented event, task, activity, or action that needs to take place/be completed.

ADA Compliance - This Americans with Disability Act means that all workplace items must be accessible to individuals with a disability, including entrances in a building, technology, workstations, and resources.

Affirmative Action - A policy to promote equal opportunity in the workplace or in education. The rules are intended to level the playing field for groups historically discriminated against or overlooked in the workplace because of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and/or other factors.
Ageism - Stereotyping and discrimination against older individuals

Agenda - A list of items to be discussed at a formal meeting.

Ally - A person who actively supports an underrepresented group of which they are not a member

Annual Leave - A type of leave that an employee is permitted per year outlined in a company's handbook.

API (Application Program Interface) - This allows for data to be transferred from one software to another. For example:

• Travel booking

• Paying with PayPal

• Otka

• Google Maps

Apprenticeship - A system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulated occupation.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) - The use of computers and software to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence to complete.

ATS (Applicant Tracking System) - This system filters out unqualified candidates by scanning for information found in an application to match with a company's description of a job position to find matching applicants.

Attrition - The departure of employees from the organization for any reason (voluntary or involuntary), including resignation, termination, death, or retirement.

Autonomy - Acting independently and making choices aligned with your own needs and goals.

Baby Boomer - A generation of people born between 1946 and 1964.

Background Check - A process used by a company to conduct more information on an individual's credit history, criminal record, previous places of employment, and or references.

Behavior-Based Intervention - The implementation of strategies to address behavior that my be dangerous or disruptive in an effort to teach more appropriate behaviors to replace the identified problem behaviors.

Benchmarking - The practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies.

Benefits - Incentives for employees that are outside of their pay that may include health insurance, tuition reimbursement, investment options, or paid time off.

Bereavement Leave - Also referred to as 'Compassionate Leave' is a paid time-off category that employees can use following the death of a close friend or family member.

Bleisure - A term used to describe business travel mixed with leisure travel.

Biophilia - A design that aims to include natural accents to account for humans’ innate tendency to seek connections with nature. Plants, soft seating, and natural light are key elements in biophilic office design.

Booking Grid - A system that allows you to view appointments daily, weekly, or monthly.

Boomerang Employee - A professional who leaves a company and is rehired later to work in the same or different position.

Breakout Space - This is a space separate from the space in which an employee works. The break out space is used for employees to de-stress, eat, or have informal meetings.

Career Cushioning - The practice of looking for a new job while employed to soften the financial impact of a job change in the event of being laid off. 

Chaotic Working - Unstructured, unpredictable, and lacking in defined procedures.

Cloud Computing -The delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet ("the cloud") to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale computing power, without direct active management by the user.

Co-employment - A contractual relationship in which a business and a professional employer organization (PEO) share certain employment responsibilities.

Collaborative Space - This is a workspace where employees from different organizations work in the same building or area. These areas are a mixture of conference rooms, shared spaces, and breakout areas.

Copycat layoffs - This term explains the en masse firing in the tech industry from 2022-2023. It refers to when executives see their counterparts at other companies making job cuts, they'll oftentimes robotically follow suit.

Consultation - A meeting with an expert or professional to seek advice within that individual's expertise.

Continuity of Employment - The length of time employees have worked for their company without taking a break.

Contractor - This is a temporary type of employment with a company that can last between three to twelve months to complete a specific job task. A contractor may be filling in for staff on leave or used to assist with a special project.

Core Work Hours - This is the time that is typically set by an organization in which all employees must be working, present, and or live/active if teleworking.

Cover Letter - Employees write a letter detailing why they are qualified for the position and their reason for interest in it.

Cultural Intelligence - This is the ability to effectively collaborate and work with people of different cultures.

Data - A collection of discrete values that convey information, describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted.

Desk Hoteling - Employees can reserve a workspace area to use for a few days.

Director - Handles the day-to-day operations, including a company's business and financial operations.

Disciplinary Action- A formal procedure employers take to address employee misconduct or poor performance.

Dismissal - An employee is terminated against their will. A dismissal can occur for various reasons, from performance-related issues to economic problems.

Disparate Treatment - Also known as 'Adverse Treatment' and is when an employer outright treats an employee or a potential employee differently because of that person's race, religion, color, sex, national origin, etc

Distributed Team - This is where team members work together in different time zones and regions.

Diversity - Inclusion and acceptance of individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, genders, social backgrounds, and sexual orientations.

Employee Assistance - Generally offers employees free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services.

Employee Handbook - Sometimes also known as an employee manual, staff handbook, or company policy manual, is a book given to employees by an employer.

Employee Referral Program - A recruiting strategy where current employees are rewarded for referring qualified candidates for employment.

Employment-At-Will - An employer can terminate your contract without giving you a reason. Employers can also change certain terms within your contract, such as benefits, work hours, and compensation, without providing a notice.

Employment Gap - A period during an individual's career where they were not formally employed.

Employment Permit - An employee being granted permission to work in a country different from their native country.

Entry Level - The lowest level in an employment hierarchy. This type of job is usually designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession.

Equal Employment Opportunity - Laws prohibit specific types of job discrimination in certain workplaces. This law ensures that everyone is treated fairly in employment decisions, including hiring, promotion, and compensation.

Exempt Employee - Typically salaried or someone exempt from receiving overtime pay.

Exit Interview - A discussion that allows a departing employee and their organization to exchange information, usually on that Employee's last day of work.

Extrinsic Reward - A monetary value that is given to an employee for achieving something. Examples include bonuses, pay raises, and additional benefits.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)- entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the Employee had not taken Leave. 

Fixed Term Contract - A type of contract where an employee and employer have agreed upon an end date.

Flextime - When an employee can work within a fixed time that is flexible for them to choose when they will start and end their day. For example, if the operation hours for a company is 6 am-6 pm, an employee can choose when they start and end their day within that range as long as they work a specific number of hours per day.

Freelancer - A self-employed individual working independently for one or multiple companies. A freelancer typically creates their schedule and sets their own service rate.

FTO (Flexible Time Off) - This is an unlimited amount of paid time off.

Furlough - A temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to the economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. This is also referred to as a temporary layoff from work.

Gen X - Generation X or people born between 1965-1980.

Gen Z - Gen Z stands for Generation Z or Zoomer. It refers to the generation after millennials and encompasses anyone born between 1995-2010.

Glass Ceiling - A metaphor that refers to the barrier marginalized people, such as women and minorities, encounter when seeking career advancements.

Great Resignation - This term is used to describe the trend of employees resigning from work voluntarily and in a mass amount.

Growth Hacking - Using resource-light and cost-effective digital marketing tactics to help grow and retain an active user base, sell products, and gain exposure.

Health Savings Account - A type of savings account that lets you set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses.

Hiring Manager - An individual in a company responsible for selecting an employee to fill an open position.

Hot-Desking - This is a system of no assigned seating for employees and a desk area available for immediate use by anyone who needs it.

Huddle - A small and quick meeting typically at the beginning of the day to outline goals and objectives for the day or to have individuals on a team quickly report on the status of a project or work item. Huddles are also used to meet to discuss the next steps for a case, client, or situation.

Hybrid Meeting - When a meeting is held where some staff are in the same room while others are joining the meeting remotely.

Hybrid Work - This is a partly remote setting where half of your job duties are spent in an office setting and the other half are spent in a remote setting.

Implicit Bias - An individual that acts based on a stereotype or prejudice without intent on certain factors such as ability, race, language, gender, or culture. For example

• A manager that provides more resources and guidance to their staff working with them in the office versus their staff working remotely.

• An employee is more receptive to their coworkers with similar educational backgrounds and experiences than another coworker with whom they do not share similarities.

Independent Contractor - Workers that generally complete tasks for a third-party

Internship - A position where an individual works for a company to gain work experience. Sometimes, this type of position is unpaid.

Invisible Disability - This is defined as a disability that is not immediately noticed, such as depression, PTSD, autism, brain injuries, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, low vision, etcetera.

Job Description - A written narrative that describes the general tasks or other related duties and responsibilities of a position.

Job-Fishing - A fraudulent act used to deceive potential employees by luring them in with descriptions of flexible benefits and high pay to get an employee to work for free and/or disclose sensitive information such as social security numbers and bank information.

Layoff - When a company terminates employment with an employee due to changes made by that company, such as restructuring, mergers, or downsizing. Sometimes, a layoff is temporary.

Leisure Leave - This consists of paid vacation, personal time off, or paid holidays.

Loud Quitting - A bold and attention-grabbing departure where individuals express employee discontent or dissatisfaction dramatically and assertively

Mail Forwarding -A service that enables a business or individual to receive mail at an address other than their permanent or official mailing address.

Manager - A person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company or similar organization.

Maternity Leave - A type of leave where an individual is granted time away from work due to the birth of a baby.

Metrics- The measurement of quantitative assessments commonly used to compare and track performance or production. 

Microaggression - This is an intentional or unintentional act of using bias and prejudice to communicate in a way that is discriminate towards members of a marginalized group such as race. For example:

• Asking someone what their nickname is due to not being able to pronounce their name.

• Telling someone who is non-white that they are articulate.

• Sharing with someone how many friends you have of a different culture or ethnicity to connect with a person.

• Stating that you see no color when someone shares their struggles about racism in the workplace.

• Asking or walking up to an individual of a different race to touch or inquire about their hair.

Millennial - Anyone born between 1981 and 1996.

Minimum Wage - The hourly rate employers must pay their employees by law.

Nap Pod - An area in the workplace setting typically found in corporate offices that allows employees to nap.

Nepotism - When people in power show favoritism at the workplace, usually towards family and friends.

Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA) -A legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share for certain purposes but wish to restrict access.

Non-Exempt Employee - Typically hourly pay or someone eligible to receive overtime pay.

No show - An employee who made a reservation to use an item, room, or resource but does not show up to claim their reserved item.

Notice - An announcement typically written detailing when an employee intends to end their contract / resign from a position.

Offboarding - The process that leads to the formal separation between an employee and a company through resignation, termination, or retirement.

Offer Letter - This document outlines the terms of employment, including the agreed-upon compensation, start date, and or benefits.

Onboarding - The process where a new employee is trained into their position.

Organizational Chart - A visual representation of a company's structure that depicts the relationships among employees, departments, and functions.

OOO - This means Out Of Office.

Overtime - Work completed outside of an employee's normal working hours.

Parental Leave - A type of leave where an individual is granted time away from work for children typically under 12 for items such as a disability, injury, surgery, or life event.

Part-Time - An employee that works less than 35 hours per week.

Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) - A document typically presented by a manager or supervisor to their direct support that aims to support an individual not currently meeting performance or professional workplace expectations.

Pilot Study/Test - A small group of employees try out a new work approach to evaluate a system before it is implemented in an entire company.

Polywork- When people have multiple jobs at once. The distinction is that some employees may have two remote jobs that have the same work hours or an office job and a remote job with the same hours.

Presenteeism - The practice of employees habitually coming to work when they shouldn't—especially coming in sick or working overly long hours.

Probationary Period - This is a trial period between the employer and employee to ensure the employee will be a good fit. The probationary period can last 3-9 months, depending on the company. The period is also used to train new staff and help them adjust to their position. Benefits and other workplace incentives sometimes do not accrue until after the probationary period.

Productivity - This refers to the amount of work achieved in a workday or over a specific time.

Proximity Bias - A workplace tendency where leaders give preferential treatment to in-office employees at the expense of remote workers.

Psychological Safety - This is a climate established by organizations that allows employees to be in an environment where they can speak up and share their ideas.

Qualitative research- Collecting and analyzing non-numerical data such as an audio recording or video. Some examples for the workplace can include a focus group, in-person or telephone interview, or audio recording. This type of research aims to understand more about an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and motivations about a topic. 

Quantitative research- Collecting and analyzing numerical data. Some examples for the workplace can include online surveys, polls, or questionnaires. This type of research aims to find patterns, make predictions, and generalize the data obtained to a larger scale of people. 

Quiet Firing - A company intentionally giving an employee more work while also reducing, hiding, or limiting access to resources for that specific employee with the intention of the employee to decide to willingly resign from their position.

Quiet Hiring - An informal term for the practice in which an employer fills workforce gaps in ways other than hiring new full-time employees, such as by training or shifting existing employees into different roles or using independent contractors to cover specific roles and responsibilities.

Quiet Quitting - An employee who decides to work within their pay range and job description without going above and beyond or working outside their perception of their job description and pay range.

Rage Applying - The practice of applying for numerous jobs quickly, often with little to no consideration of job qualifications or fit, usually when an individual is unhappy or angry with their current position.

Rage Quitting - When an upset employee quits on the spot without giving any notice.

 Reasonable Accommodation   - Adjusting to a job or work environment that enables a qualified employee with a disability to perform essential job functions.

Recurring Meeting - A pre-scheduled meeting that repeats based on parameters made by a company, manager, or supervisor. For example, a 1:1 meeting held by staff and their manager may be a recurring meeting if it is scheduled on the same day at the same time every other week.

Resenteesim -The idea of staying in a job that an individual is fundamentally unhappy in due to job security concerns or a lack of better options.

Resume - A document that displays an individual's skills, background, and accomplishments. This is often required when filling out a job application and is typically used to secure employment.

Request For Proposal (RFP) - A request for proposal is a document that solicits a proposal, often made through a bidding process, by an agency or company interested in procurement of a commodity, service, or valuable asset to potential suppliers to submit business proposals

Retaliation - Occurs when an employer (through a manager, supervisor, administrator, or directly) fires an employee or takes any other type of adverse action against an employee for engaging in protected activity.

R.T.O - Return to office.

Separation - When an individual leaves their company. This can be voluntary (i.e., resigning) or involuntary (i.e., being laid off).

Sexual Harassment - Unwanted behavior in a sexual manner or nature occurring in the workplace environment by one or more persons toward an individual or group of individuals. For example:

• Offering a better working condition or opportunity to an employee in return for sexual favors.

• Repeatedly asking someone out on a date in the workplace setting.

• Making sexual comments about someone's appearance, body, or clothing.

Shift Shock -Coined by Kathryn Minshew of The Muse, shift shock is described as "that feeling when you start a job and realize, with either surprise or regret, that the position or company is very different from what you were led to believe"

Shift Work - This is a fixed or rotating schedule broken up into day, evenings, and night, where employees complete the same job tasks in rotation.

Sourcing - A search for a candidate who can be targeted and convinced to apply for a current or future open position with the company, 

STAR Method - An interview technique that is used for answering behavioral questions

• Situation - Describe the event

• Task - describe what your role was in the situation

• Action - Explain what steps you took to address the situation

• Result - Share the outcome of the event

Strike - This is a refusal to work by the employee or a group of employees to either express a grievance, enforce a demand, protest terms, conditions, or something else outlined in an employee's contract.

Succession Planning - Used by businesses to streamline the process involving a change of leadership or ownership. It involves recognizing internal employees who merit career advancement and training them to assume new roles within the company.

Supervisor - A lower-level management position primarily based on authority over workers or a workplace.

Talent Acquisition - The process of identifying organizational staffing needs, recruiting qualified candidates, and selecting the candidates best suited for the available positions.

Temp (Temporary Employee) - An employee hired short-term and typically while a regular staff member is out on leave from their company.

Temp-To-Hire - An individual who works for a company, in which they were hired through a staffing agency, on the expectation that a full-time position may be open, dependent on budgeting allowances and the quality of work that the temporary employee offers.

Turnover - This is related to employee resignations, layoffs, separations, and discharges initiated by either the employer or employee.

Union (Trade Union) - An organization that advocates for better pay, working conditions, and employee benefits.

Up-skilling - A workplace trend that facilitates continuous learning by providing training programs and development opportunities that expand an employee's abilities and minimize skill gaps

Utilization - This is a percentage that reports on an employee's productivity or billable work. Utilization is also used to determine the number of conference rooms and desks observed in a company.

Video Conferencing - A digital platform where an individual communicates through video. Common video conferencing platforms are Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google business, or Slack.

Virtual Assistant - A self-employed worker specializing in offering administrative services to clients from a remote location, usually a home office. Typical tasks a virtual assistant might perform include scheduling appointments, making phone calls, making travel arrangements, and managing email accounts.

Virtual Office - A company that operates as one unit and has a physical mailing address but does not exist in one specific location

Volunteer Time Off (VTO) - A form of paid time off where employees volunteer in the community while receiving their usual salary.

WFA - Work from anywhere

WFH - Work from home.

Whistleblower - Someone who reports workplace conditions believed to be unsafe or illegal.

White-Collar - An employee who works in an office or professional setting.

Wrongful Termination -A terminated Employee's claim that the firing breached an employment contract or some public law.

Worker's Compensation - Provides medical expenses, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs to employees injured or that become ill "in the course and scope" of their job.

Work-Life-Balance - The amount of time an individual spends doing their job compared with the amount of time they spend with their family and doing things they enjoy.

Work Station - The specific location and area of where an individual's work is completed or carried out.

Work Stoppage - This is strike or lockout.

Yellow-Dog Contract - Agreements between an employer and Employee in which, often as a precondition to being hired, the Employee agrees not to become a labor union member or collaborate with other employees. There are both federal and state statutes outlawing yellow dog contracts.

YTD - Means "Year to Date" and refers to the period of time beginning the first day of the current calendar year or fiscal year up to the current date.