Pay lip service

How it is used

Usually followed by to plus the stated value or goal. Critical language that should be supported with a specific gap between words and actions.

Example sentences

1. Managers cannot pay lip service to work-life balance while routinely demanding replies at midnight.

   The late-night expectation contradicts the stated value.

2. The company seemed to pay lip service to training because no staff time was allocated for it.

   The absence of allocated time undermines the claimed commitment.

Common collocations

• pay lip service to an idea
• merely pay lip service

Related terms

• on boardSupporting a plan or decision and willing to take part in it; also used to say that someone has joined a team or company.
• company policyAn official rule or set of rules that guides how employees should act in particular situations at work.

More terms: Office Idioms and Phrases

• touch base
• heads-up
• on the same page
• keep me posted
• ballpark figure
• bandwidth
• circle back
• low-hanging fruit
• get the ball rolling
• back to the drawing board
• drop the ball
• on my radar