Buzzwords and bingo no.10

Have you been caught at it in front of the boss, yet? The act of frantically clicking out of instant messaging and into a multi-coloured spreadsheet as soon as your manager hovers into view has been christened "boss-spasming" according to an e-mail about "must-have office jargon for 2008" that floated to the top of my inbox this morning.

Boss-spasming, which sounds like a medical condition (symptoms: cricked neck and breathlessess) or a desperate bid to get ahead by currying sexual favours, was my favourite. Watch out: the expression "looking busy" could mark you out as yesterday's workslave.   

Other phrases to add to this year's buzzword bingo scorecard include: workspace-specific perceptual abstraction a.k.a. daydreaming; and blamestorming - the act of collective tutting and finger-pointing.  It's all just thought chewing gum on the carpet of office life, really.

Oh dear, I've just coined another term for BS.