Organizations find ways to say unpleasant things with vague and indirect language. It makes hard things more comfortable, but it obscures the simple truth.

Reduction in Force instead of Layoff

Performance Improvement Plan instead of Probation

One that I particularly hate is Alignment. It's a euphemism for forced compliance.

"aligning the organization."

"driving alignment"

"alignment vs autonomy"

"we need to align"

Alignment is never about coming to a common understanding or meeting in the middle. There is always a corporate standard to align with.

Align simply means "fall in line" and march to the beat of the same drum.