(Back to Square One is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.)

Back to Square One

Hearing back to square one begs the question: What games do our annoying managers think we’re playing?

Snakes and Ladders? Chutes and Ladders? Four Square? Hopscotch?

We know what this irritating supervisor means when we hear, “Attention everyone! We’re going back to square one,” but this doesn’t make it any less annoying.

Yes, we’re starting over, we get it. Now, can we just have a boss who regurgitates fewer childhood idioms and instead speaks like an educated adult?

We suppose what makes this one especially annoying is the satisfying way many managers use back to square one. Is it just us, or do many of them seem pleased that we failed? Like those who revel in the misfortunes of the rich and famous, the business world is filled with managers who secretly wish for failure – even among their own teams.

They root for failure… that is, unless it’s their project or their idea. Interestingly, there’s a word for those who take pleasure in the pain of others; it’s the German word Schadenfreude (literally, harm + joy).

Of course, just because there’s a word for it doesn’t mean it’s okay, right?

There’s a word for killing someone, yet that doesn’t make murder okay – even if it’s your annoying manager we’re speaking about.

The only pleasure anyone in your workplace should get from another’s pain is if that annoying manager even contracted laryngitis.

Schadenfreude indeed!

Replacement phrases: Start over; Regroup

See also: Back to the Drawing Board

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The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room is available on Amazon.