• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 10, 2015

Explaining this week’s layoffs in its New York Office, a Mcgarrybowen statement read, “Our clients’ businesses are constantly evolving, and we, as their agency partner, must be well positioned to meet those needs. As such, we made staffing adjustments in our New York office today to right size our team.”

Now we all know that right size never means up-size. After all, when an agency "up-sizes," they are more than happy to send out a press release that uses words that actually mean something like, you know, "hired" and "promoted" and "appointed" and "joined." But, God forbid, any agency (or any company for that matter) use a word that actually means something when it comes to, ahem, staffing adjustments.

Is it really that hard to say "downsize?" After all, it used to be common place to use the word "layoffs" when it came to letting people go. And, seriously, when you hear the words "right size," don't you immediately think "layoffs" anyway?

Is all of this yet another illustration of society's continued desire never to offend or upset anyone for any reason even when getting laid off. let go or fired, is, indeed upsetting?