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I don’t know about anyone else, but does 🙂 ever feel passive aggressive? And does 🙏 mean high five? Thank you? Praying!?
Turns out I’m not the only one confused about the meaning of different emojis, and according to data from software company Mailsuite, it’s affecting people at work.
In the U.S., there are more than 200 legal cases involving emojis in the last year.
Let’s look at more of the data.
🤔Are emojis okay to use at work?
Over all, the response from the more than 2,000 U.S. office workers surveyed for the Mailsuite report to using emojis at work is generally positive.
Of those who received emails from colleges with emojis in them, 43 per cent perceived those people to be more friendly, 34 per cent believed they had more personality and 30 per cent saw them as more approachable.
On the flip side, 26 per cent of work e-mail recipients said they find emoji use to be unprofessional.
The most popular emojis to use in work emails are 👍, which is used by 54 per cent of the work force (most used by Gen Z), 🙂, used by 38 per cent (most used by Millennials) and 👌, used by 21 per cent (most used by Gen Z, too).
💡Why we use emojis
More than half (56 per cent) said they used them to be friendly and 41 per cent said they use them to soften communication.
It makes sense – it can be hard to convey emotion or tone when you’re not able to show visual queues.
But, not everyone is using emojis to showcase their positive vibes. The data also reveals 6 per cent of respondents admitted to using emojis to be passive aggressive.
✉️Who we send emojis to
Gen Z is the most likely (83 per cent) to send emojis to coworkers of a similar rank, with Millennials (81 per cent), Gen X (75 per cent) and Boomers (71 per cent) not too far behind.
The likelihood of using emojis changes based on the audience.
All generations were less likely to use emojis with customers. For example, only 36 per cent of Boomers would use an emoji in an e-mail with them.
The same trend happens if people are e-mailing middle management, with 59 per cent of Gen Z and 56 per cent of Millennials reporting they’ve added emojis.
All of this data still leaves us with a question: to emoji or not to emoji?
The article offers some advice: “Experts suggest that you ‘read the room’ when starting a new job or professional relationship: think twice before adding emojis to emails, and if in doubt, don’t shoot first.”
Fast fact
Security breach
32 per cent
This is the amount of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses that have been hit with a cyberattack and aren’t aware of the financial impact, according to new data from security solution company, Okta. With billions of dollars lost to cyberattacks each year in Canada, this highlights a need for cybersecurity education.
Career guidance
The two-call trick
While most of us aren’t tasked with ensuring the success of a $3-trillion company like Microsoft, we can all learn from their chief executive officer, Satya Nadella. This article in Inc. Magazine looks at how Mr. Nadella embeds networking and gathering business intelligence into his morning by taking two calls with other CEOs.
He only asks two questions: What new startups are you excited about? What new people have you met who would be good to know?
Quoted
Progress or pointless pursuit?
“I think one of the most important ethical questions to ask is whether we are really solving a problem with humanoid robots, or if it is a case of techno-solutionism. Are we developing these robots in an attempt to push the boundaries of science and technology, simply because we can, or do we really need these robots?” says Cindy Friedman, a researcher and PhD candidate at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
On our radar
Retirement reinvented
More Canadian women nearing retirement age are choosing entrepreneurship over a traditional retirement, driven by a mix of experience, passion and financial necessity – after all, according to a recent report from Ontario’s Pay Equity Office, Canadian women retire with 17-per-cent less retirement income than men.
