Entering the workspace can be an intimidating endeavor, especially when adapting to the communication norms of a professional environment. You may encounter unfamiliar words, phrases, and acronyms when navigating emails, calendars, or scheduling appointments and meetings. For many professionals, understanding workspace language is a essential step in building confidence and integrating smoothly into office culture.
To simplify the process, we’ve compiled a list of the most commonly used jargon, slang, and acronyms that frequently appear in professional settings!
Commonly Used Acronyms
- FYI – For Your Information
- EOD – End of Day
- TBD – To Be Decided/Determined
- TBD is used when a decision or detail hasn’t been finalized yet.
- PTO – Paid Time Off
- WFH – Work From Home
- OOO– Out of Office (not available)
- ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival
- CC/BCC – Carbon Copy / Blind Carbon Copy (email terms)
- CC/BCC are email features that sends a copy of your email to a recipient. While CC allows all recipients to see who also received the email, BCC is more private, hiding recipients from each other.
- ASAP – As Soon As Possible
- POC – Point of Contact
- A POC is a designated person responsible for the communication and/or coordination of a specific task.
Workspace Jargon & Slang
- Touch base – To check in or follow up
- Circle back – To revisit a topic later
- Bandwidth – Someone’s capacity to take on more work
- Ping me – Send me a message or email
- On the same page – In agreement or understanding
- Move the needle – Make a significant impact
- Red tape – Bureaucratic obstacles or excessive rules
- Fast track – Speed up a process
- Elephant in the room – An obvious issue no one is addressing
- Greenlight – Give approval to proceed
