Two men are in the A&E department of a Cardiff hospital

Satish: Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?

Terence: Sitting makes it worse.

Satish: How could it make you feel worse?

Terence: I’m going to stand. And walk.

Satish: Does sitting make it feel more like…

Terence: It’s not a heart attack.
 

Language does not simply reflect what is going on in organisational life: it also influences what people think and what they do

Linda Holbeche, director of the Holbeche Partnership and visiting professor of HRM/OD at Cass Business School