FYI, these are the baffling acronyms to learn ASAP if you want to get on with the younger generation at work
TL;DR: If your work emails have become an alphabet soup of mystifying acronyms, then you are not alone.
FWIW, if WOM hasn’t made you an SME in jargon, ask WIIFM and maybe WFH to BID.
Or, in plain English: For what it’s worth, if word of mouth hasn’t made you a subject matter expert in jargon, ask ‘what’s in it for me’ and maybe work from home to break it down.
And TL;DR means ‘too long, didn’t read’, but has also come to indicate a summary of text for those who can’t commit to reading all of it.
But don’t worry if you’re bamboozled by all the abbreviations as a new survey of 2,000 office workers found that one in five didn’t recognise any of the acronyms presented to them.
FYI, these are the baffling acronyms to learn ASAP if you want to get on with the younger generation at work
Perhaps as expected, the older Baby Boomer generation were most confused by the short forms. Probably more surprising is the fact that the younger Generation Z workers were as much in the dark as the over-55s.
Around a quarter of 18-24-year-olds couldn’t understand the jargon, the same as the 55-to-64 age bracket. Meanwhile, just 15 per cent of 35-44-year-olds were baffled, but 41 per cent of over-65.
The most identifiable acronym was W/C, for ‘week commencing’, while the least understood were WIIFM and NRN, which just three per cent of people could decypher.
The survey was conducted by flexible office provider Landmark.
ANSWERS
TOIL Time off in lieu. DND Do not disturb. BAU Business as usual. EOW End of week. TL;DR Too long; didn’t read. G2G Good to go. BID Twice a day (Bi-daily) or break it down. WIP Work in progress. LET Leaving early today. NRN No reply needed. WIIFM What’s in it for me. B2B Back to back. OTP One-time payment
Its chief customer officer Sam Mardon said: ‘We often hear and see abbreviations used throughout the workplace, but use of acronyms and their primary meaning can differ between offices, workspaces, industries, and even departments. For the word nerds among us, acronyms can streamline and speed up conversations and communication with colleagues.
‘Yet others can find themselves surrounded by unfamiliar jargon, which can inadvertently cause confusion or miscommunication.’
More than half the respondents believed acronyms can sometimes cause confusion, while nearly a quarter felt they wasted time and ten per cent felt they caused some people to feel excluded. Just one in ten felt the shared language fostered team spirit.
So, how well do you know your acronyms? Take The Mail on Sunday quiz to find out…
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