FU?
Today’s post is a little “play along” post. I’m asking for your opinion. [So I better see some comments, people!]
In this tech savvy world many of us are now using instant messaging at work (and home and school and on our phones or whatever).
Today, a co-worker forwarded me an IM that co-worker received from a manager. Below is the transcript (names have been removed to protect the innocent).
Co-worker wanted to go home for the day, so co-worker sent the following to the manager:
“did you want to tell me on IM what you needed me to research?”
The manager was on a phone call so the response was,
“no if we don’t catch up today it can wait till next week - thanks for the fu”
This is where your assistance comes in. Tell me what you think “fu” stands for.
Well, I’m pretty sure it stands for (children turn away) F U C K Y O U.
I’m wondering what they possibly could have meant. I mean there is “411″ - short for information. But I don’t see how that could have been what they were typing. I supposed you could make an argument for “FO” - short for info - and it was typo. Otherwise I suppose they didn’t really like that the person was leaving work undone but were incredibly polite about being screwed over hence thanking them for the FU!!
I’m pretty sure it means “follow up”. There is this parenting board that I like to go to and they always use fu for follow up.
My initial thought was fuck up, but after I reread it and thought about the context I figured the manager probably meant follow up.
Considering I have a pretty good idea who you are talking about…I would say Follow Up. But HELLO, totally not appropriate. I personally would have typed it F/U.
Necole
The manager I am speaking of did mean “follow up,” however I still think it’s inappropriate to be used in the workplace. It’s just too easy for somebody to misunderstand what you mean when you say “fu.”
There is another manager at work who often says “38″ on calls. And I mean business calls..conference calls…even calls with our director and VP. She uses “38″ because of the letters that correspond with those numbers on the telephone [that would be the "F" and the "U"...and she doesn't mean "follow up"]. And this manager is a Senior Manager. It’s just ridiculous.
And what makes me even more angry is that both of these managers are woman. It’s gives woman a bad name. Woman have to work hard to get in to management positions (still in today’s day and age) and then these woman get those positions and act like giggling teenagers. Show some professionalism. Please represent us in a positive way. I have a potty mouth like no other, but I don’t use it on conference calls or with co-workers [well at least not co-workers who aren't personal friends]. There is a time and place and these woman need to learn when and where that is.