Future of Work Urban Dictionary By Allwork.Space

Welcome to the Allwork.Space Future of Work Urban Dictionary — where the words being used in discussions about the future of work get defined before they get overused.

Each week, we spotlight the words shaping how, where, and why work happens, from boardroom buzz to internal chats among work friends. They’ll get added here as a comprehensive quick-reference dictionary.

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Think of this as your field guide to workplace evolution: a definition of what the word or term means and who’s saying it. Plus, context on why it matters and where you can see it playing out in real time.

Will some of these words make it to Merriam-Webster? Maybe. But you saw them here first.

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A

AI Limbo

A state where employee enthusiasm and expectations for AI outpace the policies, systems, and support required for trusted, effective adoption.

B

Bare-minimum Mondays

A practice where employees show up to work to only do the bare minimum on a Monday, which may involve starting the day late after a morning of self-care.

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Boomerang Employee

A worker who leaves a company — whether for a new opportunity, personal reasons, or career exploration — and later returns to work for that same employer.

C

Career Cushioning

The less-severe cousin of quiet quitting, which sees workers reskilling and upskilling on their own time, while window shopping for new positions in case they become victim to layoffs.

Coffee Badging

A practice where hybrid employees enter the office briefly, often just for morning coffee, before returning home to work.

D

Digital Nomad

A worker who leverages digital technologies to perform their job from virtually any location—free from traditional office confines—while managing their own schedule as part of a flexible, location-independent lifestyle.

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E

Email Apnea

The unconscious, temporary cessation of breathing or shallow breathing while using digital screens, particularly when checking email or texting.

G

Gen Z Stare

A wordless, expressionless pause used by some Gen Z workers instead of verbal acknowledgment, often misread by colleagues as disengagement or attitude.

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H

Heartbreak Leave

A requested period of time off work to recover from the emotional fallout of a romantic breakup, reflecting growing expectations that personal heartbreak is a legitimate workplace wellbeing issue.

M

Mankeeping

The emotional and social labor women often perform to support men — not just in romantic relationships, but increasingly in professional spaces. It’s the invisible effort of managing others’ emotions, anticipating their needs, and being the uncredited glue holding teams together.

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Microdosing

Taking a very small amount of a substance — often psychedelics like psilocybin (magic mushrooms) — to reap the benefits without experiencing a full “trip.”

Microshifting

A more radical spin on hybrid work that slices the workday into multiple short, flexible “bursts” of focused effort, often around 45 to 90 minutes, separated by stretches of personal time, family duties, or rest.

O

Orchestration

The new leadership skill of designing workflows for AI and humans—often underestimated, rarely automated, and increasingly unavoidable.

P

Peanut Butter Raises

A compensation strategy where small raises are spread broadly across employees rather than large increases for a few.

Polyworking

The practice of holding multiple full-time jobs, which has become a necessity for an increasing number of people struggling to make ends meet.

Q

Quiet Quitting

When an employee does what the job demands, within the hours contracted — nothing more, nothing less.

R

Resenteeism

A hybrid of “resentment” and “absenteeism” describing disengaged employees who appear present but are mentally checked out.

S

Skill-Based Hiring

A hiring approach that prioritizes a candidate’s actual skills and demonstrated abilities over traditional credentials like college degrees or specific past titles.

T

Third Places

A thoughtfully designed shared environment—outside of home or the traditional office—such as curated hotel spaces, that remote workers use for productivity, community, and a sense of belonging.

U

Upskilling

Acquiring new or improved skills to better perform in a current job or adapt to evolving workplace demands.

V

Virtual Office

A flexible business solution that gives companies and remote workers a professional address, phone/mail handling, and access to workspace-related services without a dedicated physical desk.

W

Workslop

Low-effort, AI-generated work that looks polished on the surface but lacks real substance, forcing coworkers to fix, clarify, or redo it — often hurting productivity and trust.