These Are The Most Cringe-Worthy Phrases You're Probably Using In The Office

Do you tell your employees to "give it 110 percent?" Please . . . don't.

That phrase, according to a survey by OnePoll of 2,000 American workers on behalf of communications technology provider Jive Communications, topped a list of 40 of the most cringe-worthy phrases said in the workplace. So if you're thinking of using that phrase to motivate, please think twice.

While you're at it, don't exhort your employees to "think outside the box," "hammer it out" or do some "heavy lifting." That's going to annoy them, too. If you want to really get under their skin then go ahead and tell them to "push the envelope," or promise to "circle back" or create a "win-win situation."

"We've all been guilty of using these phrases, whether out of habit or not," John Pope, the senior vice president of Jive Communications, said in a Fox News article. "These phrases definitely aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

Pope, who confirmed the survey's data, said he believes that the overuse of these phrases has diluted their meaning. "Our goal should be to use such jargon sparingly, and when the moment calls for it," he said.

Although we've all been there, the fact is that using these phrases with employees can harm a company's productivity. According to the survey, 27 percent of American workers acknowledged tuning out people who use this kind of jargon, even though almost 72 percent admitted to habitually using these phrases.

So, are you at fault? Tsk, tsk. Just to be sure, here's the list, in order of cringe-worthiness:

Give 110 percent

Think outside the box

Hammer it out

Heavy lifting

Throw them under the bus

Don't count your chickens before they've hatched

Pushing the envelope

Let the cat out of the bag

Let's circle back

Win-win situation

Blue-sky thinking

Boil the ocean

Synergy

Low-hanging fruit

Take it to the next level

Barking up the wrong tree

Going forward

Let's ballpark this

Run this up the flagpole

Back to square one

There's no I in team

Back to the drawing board

Paradigm shift

Elephant in the room

Raise the bar

Drill down

Best thing since sliced bread

Deep dive

Skin in the game

Reach out

Touch base

Play hardball

Don't reinvent the wheel

Kept in the loop

The bottom line

Down the road

I'll loop you in

Hit the nail on the head

ASAP

Team player

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)