finance

The everyday words that are proven to cause panic in the workplace.

Just like you never want your partner to tell you that you need to talk, there are certain words and phrases that you never want to hear at work.

Unbeknownst to some unsuspecting employers, there are eight words that will send a shiver down your employee’s spines.

From “problem” to “deadline” – here are the eight words your colleagues desperately want you to stop saying.

1. Except.

Oh except, you loaded gun of a word.

As careers writer and editor Sara McCord writes on The Muse, except is one of those words that’s guaranteed to give your employees a heart attack.

“Except is a word that says you would’ve gotten the job or the influential person would have funded your idea – but there was one little thing that made that not happen. It’s the shorthand for, ‘so close, and yet, so screwed,'” McCord says.

2. Awful.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out why no employee wants to hear this five letter word creep out of a colleagues mouth.

Some words are guaranteed to send a shiver down your employee's spine. Image via iStock.
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Awful, and all of it's equally unpleasant adjectives, are not something any employee is fond of hearing as it implies that their work is not up to scratch.

3. Problem.

No one likes putting out fires at the work place and the word problem suggests just that.

Of course, sometimes there are problems that need to be addressed immediately - such as work and safety hazards and pressing client matters.

But as McCord says, when they can, bosses should try to replace the word "problem" with something a little less harsh.

"You know the difference between a problem and dealing with an annoying co-worker or looming deadline," she writes, explaining that if the word "problem" is overused, co-workers will begin to think your overwhelmed or overworked and unable to take on new opportunities.

Read More: Seven steps to reinventing your career after motherhood.

4. Redundant.

Since the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2008, many people have felt worried about job security with the effects of the crisis felt across the globe.

It's not surprising that, as a result, talk of redundancies is enough to make an employee's stomach churn.

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Fear of being made redundant also has a negative impact on employee health, as a report into the mental health of FIFO workers revealed that many don't want to speak up about mental health issues due to a fear of being made redundant.

Please, just stop saying awful. Image via iStock.

5. Deadline.

There's nothing quite like a looming deadline to leave everyone in an office in a panic and reaching for the chocolate.

Although some people thrive on a deadline and work better when they're under the pump, Small Business reports that deadlines often lead to stress and panic in staff members.

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Deadlines also often cause the line between work and home to be blurred even further.

"If the time allotted for a project is not sufficient to complete it satisfactorily, an employee may be required to spend extra hours before and after work to try to meet the deadline," Carol Deeb writes.

Read More: How to kick your career goals (while working, raising a family and generally being awesome).

6. Meeting.

Many employees dread meetings, feeling that their ineffective and a waste of time.

But Katherine Woods, the CEO and Managing Director of Meeting Magic, thinks that instead of banning meetings, employers should strive to make them a more valuable experience for all staff members.

"It is absolutely critical that organisations face the reality that they have bad meetings," Woods writes, saying instead of getting rid of them, employees need to be encouraged to participate in a more valuable way.

Deadlines often leave employees stressed. Image via iStock.
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7. Budget.

Let's face it: no one likes dealing with budgets in their professional or their personal lives.

Budgets - or, more importantly, budget cuts - affect staff in a range of ways.

Often budget cuts will result in redundancies or decreased resources and leave employees stressed and concerned.

When it comes to managing workplace reactions to budget cuts, UC Davis Human Resources says that communication and providing support to staff is key.

8. Review.

Forbes contributor Ilya Pozin believes that there is nothing employees dread more than a performance review because, in practice, performance reviews often fail to do what they're supposed to.

In theory, performance reviews provide bosses with an opportunity to provide their employees with constructive criticism and for employees to gauge how well their doing in their current job and to share how they would like to progress in their career.

But according to Business2Community 90% of reviews just don't work with only 8% of companies reporting that their reviews process encourages staff.

Are there any words you'd like to add to the list?