The 2025 Workplace Glossary

Hey HR Pros!

From “workslop” to “ghost vacationing”, the newest workplace buzzwords are the honest reflections of how employees are really experiencing work in 2025.

Let’s decode what these phrases are telling us about AI misuse, burnout, flexibility, and generational shifts, and why HR should be paying close attention to the language employees invent when policies fall short.

Upcoming In This Issue:

• 📝 The 2025 Workplace Glossary

• ⚙️ How HR Teams Are Actually Using AI, Not Just Talking About It

• ⚠️ When a Viral Moment Becomes a Long-Term HR Crisis

• 🎙️ Featured Podcast: HR Superstars With Crystal Boysen

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 📰 Latest in HR News

• Workforce policies could address talent shortages, report finds

• SHRM Faced with a disability discrimination lawsuit over alleged ADA violations

• U.S. Labor Secretary’s H-1B visa statement alarms U.S. tech workers Worried over “Tech behemoths engaged in mass layoffs”

• More than half of employers don’t plan to hire in Q1 2026, citing economic uncertainty

📝 The 2025 Workplace Glossary

In 2025, the workplace sounds a lot different—and not just because of AI.

From quirky buzzwords to unsettling behaviors, employees are coining new terms that reflect deeper cultural shifts, productivity struggles, and burnout patterns.

Here’s what the language of today’s workers reveals about the pressures reshaping the modern workplace.

Key Insights for HR Leaders 🧩

• 🔍 “Workslop” is clogging workflows
  AI-generated content done poorly—called "workslop"—creates extra cleanup work, reducing efficiency rather than increasing it.

• 📨 “Spamplications” are gaming the hiring process
  Applicants now mass-apply with AI-generated resumes, undermining role fit and overwhelming hiring teams with volume, not quality.

• 🥱 “Boreout” is as dangerous as burnout
  Lack of challenge and engagement can lead to psychological exhaustion—just as harmful as overwork, but harder to detect.

• 🌴 Ghost vacations point to PTO stigma
  A third of employees took time off without telling anyone, citing fear of being judged for using their earned PTO.

read the full 456-word article here

⚙️ How HR Teams Are Actually Using AI, Not Just Talking About It

Across teams and tools, HR professionals are moving beyond pilot projects and plugging AI directly into real work: drafting policies, matching candidates, even producing training videos with avatars.

What stands out now is how specific functions are tailoring AI to fit their workflows, not just to save time, but to make smarter, more responsive decisions.

How HR Teams Are Putting AI to Work

• 📋 HR operations teams use AI to streamline policy answers and automate payroll validation—ADP saved 19,000 minutes in one month with AI chat alone.

• 🎯 Talent acquisition teams rely on AI agents to screen candidates, match internal talent and personalize outreach—Eaton uses AI to boost both speed and quality.

• 🎓 Learning & development teams deploy AI for skill matching and gap analysis—Cornerstone’s Galaxy AI surfaces upskilling opportunities based on real-time data.

• 📊 People analytics teams use intelligent guidance to uncover trends—Workday’s Illuminate AI connects performance data to business outcomes without dashboard digging.

read the full 1,764-word article here

HR LOLs

⚠️ When a Viral Moment Becomes a Long-Term HR Crisis

It started with a kiss-cam clip at a Coldplay concert—two senior executives, one being the company’s head of HR, caught on screen in a private moment. The video went viral almost instantly, amplified by a comment from the band’s frontman and shared globally across TikTok and beyond.

But for HR professionals, the real story began after the clip stopped circulating—when online fame turned to harassment, resignations, and reputational damage with no clear end.

Key Insights for HR Leaders

• 🧠 Reputational damage outlives employment
  Both executives stepped down, but online visibility made reemployment difficult—one was told she’s “unemployable” due to the scandal’s reach.

• 🛡️ Safety becomes part of HR’s crisis response
  Harassment, doxxing and stalking extended the fallout—forcing HR to consider employee safety long after the headlines fade.

• ⚖️ There’s little path back for HR leaders who become the story
  Even when invited to return post-investigation, reputational damage made it impossible to reestablish authority as a head of HR.

• 🚺 The public fallout was deeply gendered
  The female executive received the brunt of abuse—from sexist slurs to threats—and much of it came from other women, complicating HR’s cultural response.

read the full 1,191-word article here

🎙️ Featured Podcast: HR Superstars With Crystal Boysen