Sometimes the thesaurus offers unspeakable truths

What options remain when your esteemed colleagues defy (prudent) description?

Among the tasks here at Ragan Communications are the writing and editing of newsletters for managers. Most of the material is advisory in nature—tips and how-to articles, tactics and potential pitfalls.

Generally, the reader is a middle manager who seeks timely help in performing his tasks—chief among which is motivating and overseeing his employees.

The sheer volume of the headlines and body copy requires variations in language, notably other terms for “employees.” We use “workers,” “team,” “staff/staffers,” and “group.” A lot.

Less often we might go with “colleagues” or “co-workers,” both of which have a peer connotation that some managers might not want to entertain.

So what alternatives are there?

We consulted the trusty thesaurus for help in finding other designations.

Deputies or assistants: These are rather title-specific, so they don’t quite work in a generic sense.