Employees impressed by vague corporate-speak like "synergistic leadership" or "growth-hacking paradigms" may struggle with practical decision-making, according to new Cornell research. Cognitive psychologist Shane Littrell developed the Corporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale to measure how susceptible workers are to empty organizational rhetoric. The study found that employees who rated corporate buzzwords highly also scored lower on tests of analytic thinking and workplace decision-making.

Littrell's research involved over 1,000 office workers who rated computer-generated corporate jargon alongside real quotes from Fortune 500 leaders. Participants who were more receptive to corporate BS rated their supervisors as more charismatic but demonstrated weaker cognitive reflection and fluid intelligence. The findings revealed a troubling paradox: those most excited by "visionary" corporate language may be least equipped to make effective business decisions.

The study uncovered a concerning cycle where employees susceptible to corporate BS may elevate dysfunctional leaders who use such language, creating a negative feedback loop. When corporate jargon goes too far, real reputational or financial damage can occur, as seen in infamous cases like Pepsi's ridiculed 2009 marketing presentation and Microsoft's jargon-heavy layoff announcement. Littrell's scale offers practical applications for assessing job candidates' decision-making tendencies and highlights the importance of critical thinking in workplace communication.