Technology driven social networking trends have had a drastic effect on language and human interaction. Terminology such as “OMG”, “photobomb”, “binge-watch”, “face-palm”, “listicle” and “internetically” have all been officially added to the English dictionary. Our career lives are the latest victims of the “trendificiation” craze, as HR terms continue to grow in length and complexity through the addition of the ‘-ation’ suffix.
GAMIFICATION
[ɡeɪmɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n]
The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play, etc), like in computer gaming, to other areas of activity, such as HR, team-building or marketing for example, to encourage engagement with a team, company policy, product or service.
... and all those times we were yelled at by our parents for staying up late playing those computer games or wasting time playing with our friends instead of studying have gone to waste, while gaming is now becoming one of the cornerstones of work team motivation for us as adults!
VIRTUALIZATION
[vəːtʃʊ(ə)lɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n]
Creating virtual environments (not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to do so) where the same interactive experiences could exist for all employees, thus providing the exact same interactions to all employees regardless of role or location.
... so we can finally solve our rush hour traffic problems. Who knew that virtual offices would be the solution! Everybody will be working from home.
APPLIFICATION
[applɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n]
The move towards developing mobile applications (apps) as extensions of business related software or as stand-alone mobile applications to support business processes, data reporting/analytics or team interactions. This reduces end-user complexity by adopting the mobile apps’ intuitive and basic functionality that we have all become familiar with.
... and along the way, support the eye-glasses industry as we’ll be staring at our mobiles all day for work, and all night for social networking!
DATAFICATION
[dā-tafɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n]
A modern technological trend turning many aspects of our life into computerised data and transforming this information into new forms of value. Examples of datafication as applied to social and career-related media are how Twitter datafies stray thoughts or datafication of HR by LinkedIn and others.
... because we all need more numbers in our lives!
PRE-CATION
[prɛ-keɪʃ(ə)n]
A paid holiday offered by an employer to a new employee on joining a company. In complete contrast to the conventional scenario of a new recruit not daring to request time off until they've learnt the ropes and proved themselves valuable after several months of work, the pre-cation is a 'pre-' holiday in the literal sense – it's taken before the newcomer even sits at their desk for the first time.
... but then you’ll probably be asked to attend a gamified virtual orientation through the company app while on vacation, then requested to rate it so as to datafy your satisfaction!