Gen Z’s influence on office culture is shifting communication toward a more concise, informal, and tech-savvy style. However, 60% of workers report having to figure out workplace jargon on their own, which can lead to stress and confusion. Intrigued by this, business admin experts Vera set out to identify the abbreviations that confuse people the most. We are hoping this article isn’t TLDR for you…
They extracted search volume data from online analytics tool Ahrefs for 114 different abbreviations, with variations including โXX meaningโ, ‘What does XX mean’, ‘XX definition’.
- SMH (shake my head) tops the list of the most searched-for text abbreviations, with 231,450 average monthly searches.
- In second position is POV (point of view) in second position with 155,800 average monthly searches.
- Short-form content has shrunk our attention spans, making TLDR (Too long; didnโt read) the 5th most searched term (118,600 monthly searches).
- Work related abbreviations, such as IIRC (If I recall correctly) holds the ninth spot with 65,900 averageย monthly searches.
ย Top 20 most Googled text workplace abbreviations
| Rank | Text Abbreviationย | Average Monthly Search Volumes |
| 1 | SMH (Shake my head) | 231,450 |
| 2 | POVย (Point of view) | 155,800 |
| 3 | NSFW (Not safe for work) | 126,800 |
| 4 | FOMO (Fear of missing out) | 121,600 |
| 5 | TLDR (Too long; didnโt read) | 118,600 |
| 6 | IYKYK (If you know you know) | 98,500 |
| 7 | OFC (Of course) | 96,300 |
| 8 | IMO (In my opinion) | 75,100 |
| 9 | IIRC (If I recall correctly) | 65,900 |
| 10 | HMU (Hit me up) | 64,300 |
| 11 | LMAO (Laughing my ass off) | 63,700 |
| 12 | AFK (Away from keyboard) | 59,250 |
| 13 | NGL (Not gonna lie) | 59,100 |
| 14 | OOTD (Outfit of the day) | 55,800 |
| 15 | IG (I guess) | 53,500 |
| 16 | TBH (To be honest) | 51,350 |
| 17 | TTYL (Talk to you later) | 51,150 |
| 18 | DM (Direct message) | 46,800 |
| 19 | YOLO (You only live once) | 46,800 |
| 20 | FWIW (For what itโs worth) | 44,400 |
More workplace abbreviations – how many of these do you use?
SMH (shake my head) secured the top spot with a staggering 231,450 average monthly searches asking for its meaning. It was added to the Urban Dictionary back in 2004, defining it as a response to situations one finds ridiculous or stupid, which has garnered over 25,000 upvotes since then.
The second most confusing abbreviation is POV (point of view) with 155,800 average monthly searches. POV has become a popular tag in digital content, where creators craft videos that immerse viewers in various scenarios, from everyday moments to imaginative scenes. Its dual role as both a technical term in traditional media and a trendy format in social media has made it one of the most searched-for abbreviations in the US.
In third place is NSFW with 126,800 average monthly searches. NSFW stands for ‘Not Safe For Work,’ indicating that a post may contain content that is inappropriate to view during work hours or on a work computer.
In seventh and eighth place, respectively, are OFC (Of course) and IMO (In my opinion), which have long been used in workplace communication. FWIW (For What Itโs Worth) rounds out the top 20 abbreviations with 44,400 average monthly searches, which is commonly used for adding context or personal opinions in discussions.
The data was collected by Business admin experts Vera on August 28th 2024.
Have you discovered our Ask Abi column answering dilemmas and questions by PAs, EAs and other business and admin professionals?
