If being told to “think outside the box” makes you want to punch someone you’re not alone- a new survey has awarded it the crown of the most hated office buzz phrase.

The survey by Opinium research found that the use of office jargon or management-speak is the fourth-biggest office annoyance after grumpy or moody colleagues, slow computers and small talk/gossip in the office.

Although it was a British survey most of the top 10 annoying phrases will be familiar to New Zealand corporate workers.