Albatross

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(pronounced al-buh-traws or al-buh-tros) noun

Definition

1. a constant burden, in the form of guilt or anxiety, or one that causes endless distress or frustration. 2. something that hampers action, progress, or success; an encumbrance.

Main Example

• A couple of days into the new administration in Washington, the much-admired Tony Fauci said something during a press briefing that went viral. His exact words, uttered with a big smile: "The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know and what the science is...it is something of a liberating feeling." What Dr. Fauci was implying is that during press conferences, interviews, and other public forums this past year, the president's political agenda had become an albatross that inhibited him (Fauci) from speaking his mind freely. He had this nagging fear that if he made statements that were based 100% on science, he might run afoul of his superiors who were constantly--and falsely--trumpeting that the Covid-19 situation in the nation was totally under control and about to improve rapidly.

Workplace Examples

• Our overly ambitious sales target is crushing morale. If we don't lower our sights and make the goal more realistic, it will become an albatross around our necks for the rest of the year.
• Have you noticed how Suzanne's perfectionist nature becomes a sort of albatross for her in deadline situations, especially when she is required to make quick decisions?

Other Examples

• an HR manager confiding to a colleague: "I'm relieved to hear that Jim, who is transferring into our department from manufacturing, will be reporting to someone else instead of me. Jim is pretty hard to manage and so, rather than being an asset to my unit, he would be more of an albatross."
• a company getting rid of two of its albatrosses by firing an employee who had become a source of public controversy and selling a business that consistently lost money and had thus become an unnecessary distraction
• an inexecutable campaign promise becoming an albatross for a city mayor; a job applicant whose resume boasts a string of degrees and several respected certifications and awards finding her top-notch credentials to be an albatross around her neck because prospective employers see her as being vastly overqualified
• the startling news from demographers in India that because of the evil dowry system which compels many parents to view the birth of a girl as an albatross, that nation has over 60 million fewer women since the 1980s, when ultrasound became widely available, and therefore a highly skewed ration of women to men--approximately 900-930 females per 1000 males

© 2021 V.J. Singal
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