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I will be the first to admit that I am a noob when it comes to understanding the lexicon and communication styles of a younger generation. I had many nuns drill into me my writing skills and grammar which Strunk and White polished in college and law school. Being an attorney, you learn to value the importance and often difficulty of effective and clear communication and I still sometimes struggle to grab the right word that summarizes the situation both factually and emotionally.

As new generations have entered the workplace, so has the emergence of new methods of communication like texting, slack, and Teams as well as a world where the right word can now be summarized or punctuated with a meme or an emoji. Those in HR are finding that they are navigating new territory as communications among employees may have no words at all but can create a dangerous pit of miscommunication or worse, harassment.

Everyone seems to appreciate that the use of emojis at work is context dependent. A study performed at the end of 2023 of work from home (WFH) employees demonstrated that 44% of the WFH employees felt that using emojis in work communications is unprofessional. The study showed that while the use of certain emojis were good at conveying accurate emotions (thumbs up, rolling eyes <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be400815238a8582983_face-with-rolling-eyes_1f644.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom;"> , face palming <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be463261ae83335b8bf_person-facepalming_1f926.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; ">), the use of some emojis often created more confusion (upside down face <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4269a127936209da0_upside-down-face_1f643.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; "> , thinking face <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4d5cb78a69d6bed2c_thinking-face_1f914.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; "> , unamused face <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be49ee955d67a4039b3_unamused-face_1f612.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; ">).

A 2020 study published in Computers in Human Behavior revealed that emojis' meanings differ not only by generation but also by gender. For instance, the "thinking emoji" <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4d5cb78a69d6bed2c_thinking-face_1f914.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; "> was interpreted differently by men and women with men seeing it as slightly positive and women as slightly negative. Even using a basic smiley face emoji is now frowned upon because Gen-Zers consider it to connote an absence of depth of emotion. Similarly, the skull emoji <img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4517189029800160d_skull_1f480.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; "> is considered a laughing emoji for younger generations, but older people may believe it represents death.

At least the 2023 study revealed a ranking of the most inappropriate emojis for use at work:

<ul><li><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4d4b4c768b9f280ef_beer-mug_1f37a.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-right: 10px;"> Beer Mug (considered by men and Millennials as least appropriate for work)</li><li><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be495013da36699fea4_eggplant_1f346.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-right: 10px;"> Eggplant (considered by Gen-X and women as least appropriate for work)</li><li><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be450fb1afefaa01b4a_kiss-mark_1f48b.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-right: 10px;"> Kiss Mark (considered by men as least appropriate for work)</li><li><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4fee030742f3cddbf_middle-finger_1f595.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-right: 10px;"> Middle finger (Baby boomers considered this as least appropriate)</li><li><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/623f408ab3c7986f07d0a644/67082be4dcf986a47116be65_peach_1f351.png" style="width:24px;height:24px; vertical-align: text-bottom; margin-right: 10px;"> Peach (Gen-Zers found this to be the least appropriate for work)</li></ul>

Savvy HR professionals are adept at effective communication skills. There is no doubt that discussions about communications should incorporate some explanation for the confusion which may be created through emojis. To avoid HR feeling as if they need a degree in hieroglyphics to understand some of the communications among co-workers, there is a site dedicated to the creation and meaning of emojis at www.emojipedia.org.

For help translating emojis or other cryptic workplace communications, reach out to a capable RKW employment lawyer.