In today’s fast-paced, deadline-driven work environment, we have little time to write a well-crafted paragraph when conversing with our colleagues. Messages need to be written and exchanged quickly, with no time for too much detail. Keep things at work moving with our list of workplace acronyms:

Who?

SME: Subject Matter Expert

VW: Virtual Worker

FTE: Full-Time Employee

PTE: Part-Time Employee

POC: Point of Contact

What?

TL;DR: Too long; Didn’t Read

TL;TR: Too Long To Read

EOM: End of Message

EOT: End of Thread

IMO: In My Opinion

PRB: Please Reply By

HTH: Hope That Helps

Y/N: Yes or No

TYT: Take Your Time

LMK: Let Me Know

FWIW: For What It’s Worth

BID: Break It Down

ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival

OT: Off Topic

RFD: Request For Discussion

TED: Tell Me, Explain to Me, Describe to Me

WIIFM: What’s in it For Me

WOM: Word of Mouth

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

When?

EOD: End of Day

COB: Close of Business

NRN: No Reply Necessary

EOW: End of Week

MTD: Month to Date

YTD: Year to Date

Where?

IAM: In a Meeting

OTP: On the Phone

WFH: Work From Home

LET: Leaving Early Today

OOO: Out of Office

PTO: Paid Time Off

WBT: Web-Based Training

Stay out of trouble…

NSFW: Not Safe For Work

SFW: Safe For Work

NWR: Not Work Related

Just when we thought the days of AIM chat were behind us, we enter the workforce. Who would have thought your instant messaging skills could be utilized in a professional setting? Being able to decode your emails will ensure quick understanding and timely responses. Bring back your inner instant messenger.

Stay tuned for a blog post on digital acronyms.