Workplace Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms used at Workwell Collective and the workplace situations people bring to a conversation. Where a longer article exists, the entry links to it.
Find a term
About Workwell
Confidential conversation · Guide · Lived experience · Match · Outside perspective · Workplace confidant
Workplace situations
Burnout · Career pivot · Credit stealing · Difficult conversation · Difficult manager · Executive presence · Influencing without authority · Managing former peers · New manager transition · Peer conflict · Post-layoff guilt · Promotion readiness · Reorganization (reorg) · Return-to-office mandate · Role/title mismatch · Sunday night scaries
Terms you'll hear at work
Lateral move · Matrix organization · Performance improvement plan (PIP) · Skip-level meeting · Stretch assignment
About Workwell
Confidential conversation
A confidential conversation is one where what's said stays private between the people in it.
At Workwell, conversations are one-on-one and live, with a guide who is outside the member's company, so the conversation has no workplace channel to travel through. Workwell's standards set out how confidentiality works for guides and members.
Guide
A guide is a person on Workwell Collective who has lived experience with a workplace situation and talks it through with a member in a live, one-on-one conversation.
Guides are outside the member's company and have no stake in how the situation turns out. They're matched by situation, not seniority, so a guide may be more senior, more junior, or at the same level as the member. A guide offers perspective from experience. It isn't mentorship or an ongoing relationship.
Lived experience
Lived experience is firsthand knowledge of a situation gained by going through it, as opposed to knowing about it in theory.
It's the basis for matching at Workwell. Someone who has managed through a reorganization or stayed on after layoffs understands things that credentials alone don't show. It's different from expertise: a person can know a topic well without having been through it.
Match
A match is a guide whose lived experience fits the situation a member describes, chosen from the guides Workwell matches to that situation.
Members start by telling Workwell what they're dealing with. Workwell presents matched guides, and the member chooses who to talk to. Matching is built around the situation, not job titles or level.
Outside perspective
An outside perspective is a view on a workplace situation from someone who isn't part of your organization and has no stake in the outcome.
Colleagues, managers, and even close friends can be affected by or invested in your decision, which colours what they tell you. Someone outside the situation has nothing to gain or lose from what you choose.
Workplace confidant
A workplace confidant is a colleague you trust enough to share work concerns with, the person at work many people think of as their "one."
Confidants are valuable, but workplaces are networks of relationships, and information can travel through them in ways none of us control. That's why some situations are better talked through with someone outside the organization.
Workplace situations
Burnout
Burnout is a state of prolonged exhaustion, cynicism or detachment from work, and reduced effectiveness, typically linked to sustained workplace stress.
It describes a work-related experience, not a medical diagnosis, and Workwell conversations are not therapy or medical advice. It often builds gradually and can be hard to act on, especially when quitting isn't an option.
→ I feel burned out, but I can't quit. What now?
→ What the Data Says About Burnout in Canada, and Why Talking About It Helps
Career pivot
A career pivot is a deliberate change of direction in your career, such as moving to a new function, industry, or type of role, while building on the experience you already have.
It differs from a promotion or lateral move because the direction itself changes. It usually means weighing what you'd protect against what you'd have to rebuild or explain.
→ How do you change direction in your career without losing everything you've built?
Credit stealing
Credit stealing is when someone, often a colleague or manager, presents your work or ideas as their own, or receives recognition that should be yours.
It can be deliberate or careless, and it's often hard to prove. Either way, it affects your visibility and how your contribution is seen.
Difficult conversation
A difficult conversation is a discussion you're reluctant to have because of the risk to a relationship, your standing, or the outcome.
Common examples are giving tough feedback, raising a concern, or pushing back on a decision. The difficulty usually comes from what's at stake, not the topic itself. Feedback to a colleague or manager is one of the most common versions.
→ How do I give tough feedback without damaging the relationship?
Difficult manager
A difficult manager is someone whose way of managing makes day-to-day work harder, for example through unclear expectations, inconsistent behaviour, micromanagement, or a lack of support.
Because a manager is usually the main route for raising concerns, the situation can feel isolating, and it isn't always possible to escalate it.
→ What do I do if my manager is difficult, but I can't escalate it?
Executive presence
Executive presence is how a person's communication, composure, and judgment come across to senior leaders, and whether it signals readiness for greater responsibility.
The term often appears in feedback without a clear explanation, and what it means varies by organization and by leader.
→ What does executive presence actually mean, and how do you build it?
Influencing without authority
Influencing without authority is the ability to get people to act or agree when you have no formal power over them, such as colleagues in other teams or senior stakeholders.
It relies on credibility, relationships, and clear reasoning instead of reporting lines. It comes up most when your work depends on people outside your own team.
→ How do you influence people who don't report to you?
Managing former peers
Managing former peers is leading people who were previously colleagues at your level, usually after a promotion or reorganization.
The relationship shifts from equal to hierarchical, which can change how colleagues speak to you, what you can share, and how your decisions are received.
→ How do you manage people who used to be your peers?
New manager transition
A new manager transition is the period of adjustment after your manager changes, when priorities, expectations, and working style may shift.
It can mean re-establishing your credibility and clarifying what's expected of you. It can happen on its own or as part of a reorganization.
Peer conflict
Peer conflict is a disagreement or ongoing friction between colleagues at the same level, with no one clearly responsible for resolving it.
It can be harder to resolve than conflict with a manager because there's no reporting line to escalate through. It often shows up as unclear ownership, competing priorities, or different working styles.
→ How do you handle conflict with a colleague when there's no clear way to escalate it?
Post-layoff guilt
Post-layoff guilt is the mix of guilt, worry, and unease some employees feel when they keep their job while colleagues are let go.
It often comes with a heavier workload and uncertainty about your own role. It describes a workplace experience, not a clinical condition, and it isn't the same as survivor guilt as understood in trauma contexts. Workwell conversations are not therapy.
→ How do you keep going after a layoff you survived?
Promotion readiness
Promotion readiness is how prepared you are, and how prepared others judge you to be, to take on a role with greater scope or responsibility.
The two views can differ, and it can feel like pressure as much as recognition, especially when you're unsure you're ready.
→ How do I prepare for a promotion I'm not sure I'm ready for?
Reorganization (reorg)
A reorganization is a change to how a company is structured, such as reporting lines, teams, roles, or priorities.
It can change who you report to, what your role includes, and how your work is measured, often with limited explanation. A reorg is different from a layoff, though the two sometimes happen together.
→ How do I navigate a reorganization without losing momentum?
Return-to-office mandate
A return-to-office mandate is an employer requirement for employees to work on-site, or on-site more often, after a period of remote or hybrid work.
It can affect commuting, caregiving, and cost, as well as how people feel about trust and flexibility. Policies and expectations vary by employer.
Role/title mismatch
A role/title mismatch is when the work you do is broader or more senior than your official title, level, or pay reflects.
It often develops gradually as responsibilities grow without a formal change. It can affect recognition, compensation, and how others understand your scope.
→ What do I do when my role has outgrown my title?
Sunday night scaries
Sunday night scaries are the anxiety or dread some people feel on Sunday evening about the week of work ahead.
It's an informal term, not a diagnosis. For some people it points to something specific about their work, and for others it's mostly the shift back into the week.
Terms you'll hear at work
Lateral move
A lateral move is a change to a different role or team at the same level, without a promotion or change in title.
People make lateral moves to broaden their experience, change direction, or leave a difficult situation. Compensation may or may not change, depending on the organization.
Matrix organization
A matrix organization is a company structure where people report to more than one leader, typically a functional manager and a project or business-line manager.
It can make decisions and priorities harder to read, since several people may have a say in your work.
Performance improvement plan (PIP)
A performance improvement plan is a formal process in which an employer documents performance concerns, sets expectations, and gives a defined period to meet them.
Practices and consequences vary by employer and jurisdiction. Workwell does not give legal or HR advice, and anyone facing a PIP who has questions about their rights should consult an employment lawyer or the relevant labour authority.
Skip-level meeting
A skip-level meeting is a conversation between an employee and their manager's manager, held without their direct manager in the room.
Organizations use them to hear from people closer to the work, and employees sometimes request them. How they're handled varies by workplace, and they can feel sensitive because they bypass the usual reporting line.
Stretch assignment
A stretch assignment is a project or role that goes beyond your current responsibilities and is meant to build new skills or demonstrate readiness for more.
It can be a path toward promotion, but it can also add workload without added recognition, which is worth clarifying up front.
Dealing with something that isn't listed? Tell us what's going on, and Workwell matches you with someone who has been there. Get matched →
Last updated: October 15, 2026