(Team Player 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.)

Team Player

We’ll admit it; we like referring to a group of employees as a team. In so many ways and in so many workplaces, successful groups of employees act like well-coached teams.

However, we must draw the line at calling anyone a team player.

If they’re loyal, call them loyal. If they’re dedicated, call them dedicated. If they’re willing to help you cover up malfeasance, they’re not a team player, they’re an accessory to a crime.

Of course, most often when your annoying manager refers to someone as a team player, they’re indicating the person is loyal and/or dedicated. Your boss utters the overused and irritating phrase team player because he or she is of the fauxtivational type who sprinkles in sports analogies, sayings, and metaphors with excruciating frequency.

Barely a sentence leaves their mouth that doesn’t include such cringe-worthy gems as play ball, game time, move the goal posts, and of course, team player.

While all managers want employees to be loyal and dedicated, annoying managers don’t understand employee loyalty and dedication are tested with every irritating cliché they utter.

Replacement phrases: Loyal; Dedicated

See also: Play Ball; There is No “I” in Team

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