Words have power!
As I quickly approach 30 years as an HR Professional, and as I watch the world continue to change around me, I can't help but notice how words have this ridiculous power over people.
I mean, think about it, two tiny words, just shuffling around in different orders, and suddenly it’s a full-blown national crisis.
Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!
Boom. War.
Only in America can we discover a way to make well-wishing so controversial toward one another. But let’s be real about this, humans have been freaking out over language since the first caveman grunted something that sounded vaguely like an insult to someone’s mother.
As a resident (and blogger) in beautiful, quirky, magical, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, I’ve spent years watching people react to language like it’s a live grenade.
And I know I speak for a few other HR Professionals in my network when I say that I can confirm that words are the most dangerous things in the office. I mean, aside from Malcolm's candy jar and Sally's freshly baked cookies in the breakroom. Gone are the days when Steve from accounting brings fish to work and microwaves it.
Today, in 2025, what will really cause total workplace meltdown is how you phrase your freakin' email.
“Per my last email.”
That’s corporate speak for: “You absolute asshat, I already told you this.”
“Just checking in!”
Translation: “I’m furious, but society says I have to pretend I’m chill.”
“Let’s circle back on this.”
Meaning: “I’m tired. You’re tired. Let’s pretend this problem will resolve itself or that we both get fired before we have to deal with it.”
And don’t even get me started on pronouns. Some people hear “they/them,” and it’s as if we just told them the Earth is flat, gravity is optional, and time travel is real (which, knowing this town, someone would totally believe). But here’s the thing: language changes. That’s literally its job. Otherwise, we’d all still be speaking in Middle English, and no one would have any idea if they were being insulted or proposed to.
1886
1886 - this was seven years after Eureka Springs was founded and named and ten years after Alexander Graham Bell patented the phone. Imagine the chaos. You pick up the receiver (which, at the time, was probably made of wood and sadness), and you say, “Hello?” except you don’t, because “hello” wasn’t even the default greeting yet. That, my friends, didn’t happen until Thomas Edison pushed to replace it for “Ahoy.” Can you imagine a world where people answered the phone like pirates? I mean, sure, that would’ve been awesome, but can you picture your doctor calling with test results?
“Ahoy, Mrs. Thatch, I regret to inform ye that ye’ve got the rot. Eat an orange and be sure to start writin’ yer will just in case.”
But even in 1886, people were resistant to change. Back then, folks were flocking to Eureka Springs for its healing waters, because, you know, science wasn’t really a thing yet and everyone was bringing their own languages, dialects, and beliefs with them. So naturally, there were clashes.
“What do you mean you don’t call it ‘soda’? You say ‘pop’? My God, man, have you no morals?”
OK, so fast forward to 2025, and we’re still doing this. Except now, instead of debating phonographs, we’re arguing over email signoffs and whether saying “you guys” is too gendered (spoiler: it is).
Some people refuse to change, insisting that the way they learned to talk in 1975 was, in fact, the final evolution of the English language. I have news for these people: Shakespeare’s English wasn’t even the final version of English. If he time-traveled to today and heard a teenager say, “That slaps,” he’d assume they were being physically assaulted.
And let’s be clear, this resistance to change isn’t just quirky, it's dangerous.
In these troubling times, LGBTQIA+ people face real, tangible discrimination, often over something as simple as a pronoun. It’s like someone asking to be called by their actual name and the response being, “Hmm, no. I’ve decided you look more like a Greg. I'm calling you Greg.”
People don’t have to understand something to respect it.
(read that again!)
It's true. Right? I mean, think about it, you don’t have to personally get why someone uses they/them pronouns; you just have to not be a jerk about it, or use your influence to pass laws that harm society.
Look, I know change is scary. I, for one, still haven’t adjusted to the fact that we live in a world where some people think “TY 4 interview” is an acceptable text to a recruiter after a job interview. But here’s the thing: just because something makes you uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It just means you have to catch-up.
The trouble is America doesn't want to catch-up. Many want to go backward.
Well, I'm beyond thankful that our Eureka Springs continues to evolve and catch-up year after year.
So, no matter where you are in the world, just do your best. Be a good human. Learn new terms. Respect new pronouns. Evolve with language as it evolves. Respect diversity and differences. And if you’re still struggling with it all, my recommendation is to come visit Eureka Springs, Arkansas this summer and observe the beautiful people of Eureka. We're happy to show you that love, harmony, respect and inclusion really should be expressed to one another all the time, every day.❤️
Kommentare