#A thumbs up professional#

“I actually find a heart emoji weird for work messages. “To me, the heart is reserved for friends and family, and has a more intimate meaning of love, while thumbs-up is just simple agreeing,” commented one person. On Reddit, some were less offended by the thumbs-up emoji but felt the heart symbol was actually the most inappropriate. Across the board, people want to know they’ve been heard and emojis do not convey that for everybody.” “It can differ from generation to generation. “ can be interpreted as disrespectful,” Swann told The Post.

#A thumbs up professional#

Lifestyle and etiquette expert Elaine Swann - who has done corporate training on the matter - advises the avoidance of emojis all around in the professional world, if only to avoid misinterpretation. Several Reddit users agreed with the decision to cancel the emoji, saying that using it in a work environment makes the team members “unaccommodating” and seem “unfriendly.” “If I took the time out to write a thoughtful message, then you shouldn’t be responding with the bare minimum. “We’re people and we have words to use,” Kim Law, a 25-year-old social worker from Massapequa, told The Post. Instead, Gen Zers said they’d prefer a typed-out response. Much-requested pink heart emoji, more symbols coming to smartphones One Reddit user noted that the thumbs-up actually means that “I’ve read your message and have nothing add and I hope and pray … all the bazillion people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too.” Others complained that it comes across as dismissive. “Took me a bit to adjust and get out of my head that it means they’re mad at me.” “Everyone my age in the office doesn’t do it, but the gen X people always do it,” they wrote. One anonymous office worker chalked it up to a “generational communication culture difference.” Several Gen Zers have officially canceled the thumbs-up emoji after it was deemed passive-aggressive. He said he only used it to communicate with boomers like his parents or older colleagues.

“I only use it sarcastically, though sometimes I’m not even sure if the irony comes across,” Barry Kennedy, 24, told The Post. Part of the issue is that young people tend to use the thumbs-up in jest. Older workers appeared flummoxed by the reaction, noting they use the thumbs-up in work-related chats to signal “I approve” or “I understood and will obey.” “So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same.” “It’s super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up,” they added. “For younger people, the thumbs-up emoji is used to be really passive-aggressive,” a 24-year-old Redditor wrote. Gen Zers are calling out the popular thumbs-up emoji for being “rude” and “hostile,” even saying they feel attacked whenever they see it used in the workplace.Īfter a Reddit poster confessed to being “not adult enough to be comfortable with the thumbs-up emoji reaction,” others chimed in to agree and to call out other common emojis such as the red heart. Real meanings behind some of the most popular emojis revealedĮlon Musk sets automatic poop emoji response for all press requestsīuckle up - cancel culture has officially come for emojis. Tennessee teacher’s Facebook post revealing why ‘kids aren’t ready for social media’ goes viral: ‘Terrifying’

Mallet mentions that middle aged men’s communication skills are often pretty different to those raised on the internet, for instance, so it makes sense that they might not quite 'get' the strange, multi-layered, potentially sardonic context behind a pixel thumbs up.Lost in translation: This emoji is most confusing to Americans: ‘I have no clue’ This interpretation of being blasé, however, is a nuanced one built from years of engaging with internet culture and probably not intended by a 50 year old dad replying to his kid’s weird meme in the family group chat. “The thumbs up can come across as passive-aggressive or that the conversation is not being treated with respect, especially if the conversation has a serious topic and the conversation has been had using words.” When we're used to responding to our friends with the skull emoji to show that what they've said is so funny that we're now literally dead, the thumbs up feels… odd. It's simple, yes, but to younger people it can also seem a little unenthusiastic and even sarcastic. But, Mallet adds, the thumbs up emoji in particular has a contextual negativity associated with it.