What Does “Put It on the Back Burner” Really Mean at Work?

Introduction

You’ve heard it in meetings. You’ve said it to buy time. But what does “put it on the back burner” really mean in the workplace? It’s the corporate way of saying, “Let’s pretend we’ll revisit this while quietly ignoring it forever.” Welcome to the art of professional procrastination — politely packaged in metaphor.

What Does the Phrase Actually Mean?

"Putting something on the back burner" means to temporarily setting it aside or delay working on it, usually with the intention of returning to it later. It’s the office-friendly way of saying:

“This isn’t urgent, and honestly, I hope it quietly goes away.”

This usually applies to projects or ideas that may be important, but not considered a priority in the current chaos of deliverables, budgets, or shifting management focus.

The Literal Origin (From the Kitchen to the Cubicle)

The phrase traces back to the kitchen, where a cook places a pot that needs less attention on a back burner, where the heat is lower, allowing it to simmer while they focus on more pressing dishes up front.

Likewise, in corporate life, your “Innovative Side Project” or “Department Wellbeing Strategy” ends up simmering while everyone panics over Q4 targets.

When Managers Use the Phrase

Here are some classic workplace situations where "back burner" makes an appearance:

• In a meeting:
  “Let’s put that on the back burner until we’ve resolved the budget issue.”
• During a 1:1 with your manager:
  “Your training proposal is great. We’ll circle back once we’ve dealt with the reorg.”
• Team stand-ups:
  “We’ll deprioritise the UX review for now — back burner it until the next sprint.”

Translation?

This is never going to happen unless someone gets very loud about it.,

The Corporate Trap: Too Many Back Burners

Most stoves have four burners. Metaphorically, so does your team.
But if everyone keeps moving tasks to the back burners, they overflow, bubble over, or quietly burn out. You end up with:

• Exciting projects... 9 months ago.
• Team ideas that died in a shared Google Doc.
• Initiatives with no owners, deadlines, or hope.

It’s not procrastination — it’s strategic simmering.

“If this phrase annoys you, wait until you hear what ‘Low Hanging Fruit’ really means…”

What Does The Phrase “Low Hanging Fruit” Refer To In The Workplace”

“Incorporating Low-Hanging Fruit Strategies: Boosting Workplace Productivity. Discover how simple changes in resource allocation, employee engagement, and task prioritization can lead to remarkable gains in workplace efficiency.”

Office BantomimeJames Mason

The Real Problem? Endless Prioritization

In workplaces obsessed with “doing more with less,” the back burner becomes a black hole. Urgent always beats important. And important ideas, if not tied to a KPI, get buried under a pile of Jira tickets and “quick wins.”

So What Can You Do About It?

• Document everything — Back-burnered tasks need reminders, or they vanish.
• Bring it back up tactfully — “Hey, just checking if the X initiative is still on your radar?”
• Create a “back burner board” in your team space — a visual graveyard of good ideas waiting to be revived.

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Office BantomimeJames Mason