This is the communications ‘Word of the Year,’ according to you

In early December, during Ragan Communications Leadership Council’s retreat at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel, California, council members shared their picks for the communications “Word of the Year”. As members voted from their mobile devices, a word cloud began to populate on screen. “Burnout” was a clear winner, with other words and phrases close behind.

Last week, we shared a LinkedIn poll to see how the wider Ragan community would rank the choices. 790 of you voted in a close race that saw a clear winner.

We know, we know, “quiet quitting” is not a single word. In that respect, “Word of the Year” seems like a bit of a misnomer. But then again, “quiet quitting” is a misnomer on its own — a phrase that doesn’t accurately portray the phenomenon it refers to.

The phrase, which became popular as a TikTok trend, refers to a phenomenon wherein employees only fulfill the bare minimum of their job expectations, not pushing themselves to work extra hours or take on additional responsibilities.

A controversial winner