Two men stand in a glass-paned office in Glasgow

Frank: To exercise, perhaps.

Joe: No, I believe they were literally slaves.

Frank: They also had killer definition in their torsos because they kept at it…

Joe: Upon fear of death.

Frank: I mean, these guys couldn’t just waddle down to the gym one day a week.
 

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