Research by Schwa communications agency predicts that ‘mutuality’ will be the buzzword on every businessperson’s lips this year.

A new buzzword, ‘mutuality’, will be everywhere in business this year. This is according to research by communications agency Schwa, as the agency believes the word's popularity is symptomatic of business leaders' increased sensitivity to the needs of those stakeholders besides investors, such as employees.

Close runners-up were ‘hypergrowth’ and ‘sustainovation’, a portmanteau of ‘sustainability’ and ‘innovation’.

“‘Mutuality’ captures a shift in the dynamics of the workplace, post-Covid, where a good work relationship is supposed to be a win-win for the employer and the employee, rather than it all being in the company’s favour,” says Neil Taylor, founder of Schwa. “We’re hearing it starting to pepper the speeches of CEOs and HR directors.”

Taylor says he is unsurprised that ‘hypergrowth’, referring to a period of rapid growth in a company’s development, also ranked highly. “It also just sounds cool,” he says. “Businesspeople love words that sound like they might be based on science, but also have a bit of energy to them.”

Sustainability-innovation hybrid ‘sustainovation’ offers the allure of appearing abreast of trends. Taylor adds: “The fact that it’s an invented word gives you the thrill that you might be talking about a cutting-edge concept.”

Schwa is a language consultancy whose clients include Disney and PepsiCo.