Why Swearing's on the Rise at Work

A podcast convo about the role of obscenity in organizational community

Heads-up: we use explicit language in this episode.

But more importantly, we discuss what “bad words” do at work and why…

• …the C word is proliferating among Gen Z employees workers

• …the difference between slurs and swears matters

• …“the language rules” change depending on who’s speaking and who’s listening

• …shows like The Bear use extreme language extremely

• …60 uses of F word in a given workday is 1 too many

• …your workplace needs a Cussing Tree

Boomer, Xer, Millennial, and Gen Zer have their place around our table: Ken, David, Craig, Emily, LaShone, and Hannah. We don’t have representatives from the Silent Generation. (Still, we’re pretty sure they used explicit language at work, too, but—silently?)

This week, we’re exploring what today’s intensifications of swearing might say about “stuckness” in our workplaces.

Hey, what about you? Do you swear at work? Do you have a preferred swear substitute? Hit reply to this email and let us know!

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Here are simple instructions (adapted from Apple’s own website on the subject)…

Do you use a Mac?  Open the Podcasts app, click Shows in the sidebar, select a show, scroll down to the Ratings & Reviews section near the bottom of the page, then…

• Click a star to select a rating.

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If you don’t use a Mac…  Visit Apple Podcasts page in a web browser like Chrome or Safari.

• Click “Listen on Apple Podcasts” to the right of the logo; then accept the pop-up asking if you want to launch iTunes.

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