FYI, in today’s corporate world, leveraging KPIs, ROI, and EOD tasks through AI and ML is key for Q4 EOFY growth.
Most employees can’t understand that sentence—and we don’t blame them.
If you weren’t already confused by the huge number of workplace acronyms that existed already, there’s a whole new dictionary of corporate acronyms and abbreviations employees need to get familiar with.
Acronyms are everywhere in the workplace and as part of our day-to-day lives. Whether in emails, reports, meetings, or training manuals, they’re a seemingly harmless, convenient shorthand form of words for long phrases. While they make communication quicker to those in the know, they also alienate those who don’t and create confusion, misunderstandings, and even costly mistakes.
When consultants start inventing acronyms, you know things are bad.
So have we gone too far?
Acronyms cause stress, slow down productivity, and leave some feeling excluded from conversations. Research from the website development company Wix analysed how often employees Google the definitions for each of the 45 most used office acronyms to find out which ones puzzle people the most. KPI topped the list as it generated a whopping 662,400 searches last year in the UK alone.
Too many employees are eating up time at work trying to decipher what the heck an urgent email from their boss means. So do they have their place at work, or have we gone too far?
In this blog, we’ll unpack why this is happening, some of the pressing implications and what HR can do about it.
For starters, they alienate other employees who don’t know what they mean. Research from the US in 2017 explored how abbreviations can exclude those not in the know. 90 people were split into three groups and asked to read an introductory email from a CrossFit gym.
If you’ve ever worked out in a crossfit style HIT class, you’ll know there are plenty of acronyms AMRAP of the WOD EMOM.
One group was given the email without acronyms, one group was given some acronyms and the word spelled out i.e. (AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)), and the last group was given acronyms without words or phrases spelled out. People in the last group experienced feelings of embarrassment, exclusion, and most did not join the class.
Meaning there’s an inclusion and belonging issue. Managers might not realise they are blocking employees out of meetings, stopping them from contributing, and simply leaving them feeling like they don’t belong. It’s become automatic for them to freely use acronyms without spelling them out. They’re not conscious of the impact they’re having on others in the room, or even virtually.
If you think about it, communicating with corporate acronyms is like talking in a completely different language.
For example, you would never start talking Mandarin in a meeting if there were people in the room who didn’t speak that language.
That would be rude. But that’s the unintentional impact acronyms at work have. It alienates and disengages people. HR needs to be upfront and clear with the communication styles expected in your organisation. Keep it vanilla. Keep it plain. Keep it clear.
There’s also a suggestion that there’s a communication barrier between Gen Z and older employees due to the use of corporate acronyms. According to LinkedIn research, half of Gen Z employees think a colleague has used a phrase in a different language when it’s just jargon. It’s creating a communication gap where a large portion of the workforce doesn’t know how to communicate with each other, which is hardly surprising when they feel like they’re speaking entirely different languages.
Here are some practical steps you and the HR team can think about to get a grip on these acronyms.
Define—ensure employees and managers define acronyms in documents, emails or presentations and ensure they spell out the full term the first time it appears, followed by the acronym. You can even go one step further and create a database or master file with all of the commonly used acronyms and their meanings.
Awareness—acronyms have become integrated into the everyday it’s easy to forget their impact. Be aware and know that if someone doesn’t know an acronym, it doesn’t mean they are incompetent.
Normalise—new employees (and old) don’t have the confidence to ask WTH (what the hell) something means. Reframe asking these types of questions as learning and an important step to fit into a new team.
The corporate world is confusing already. Add in a bunch of confusing acronyms, and you’re in trouble. Practically everyone complains about it, but nobody wants to fix it. Which is why HR needs to get on top of it ASAP.
Martian Logic has been helping HR teams navigate communication challenges with simple, scalable solutions that help organisations thrive. Our intuitive HRIS reduces complexity by consolidating everything from recruitment and onboarding to performance tracking and employee engagement—in one place and in plain language. By leveraging real-time analytics and dynamic reporting, HR leaders can spot where confusion is creeping in and take action—ensuring every team member truly understands what’s going on, from ‘KPI’ to ‘ROI.’ Ready to simplify your workplace culture and enhance clarity? Contact us today and discover how Martian Logic can improve engagement, retention, and long-term success.