Can I use emojis at work? 🫣
An emoji sends a thousand Slack messages
Welcome to Gen Z Translator, where I break down trending topics on Fridays. If you’re new, you can subscribe here and follow me on Instagram. Views are my own. Happy reading!
I would consider myself a member of the Cult of the Party Parrot.
Cult of the Party Parrot? No? You haven’t heard of it? Let me enlighten you.
On the internet, there exists a webpage containing a multitude of animated party “parrots” (I say that in quotes because not all of them are parrots but the essence of the parrot is there) that can be uploaded to messaging systems like Slack and used as gif reactions.
For example, we have the regular party parrot who conveys a sense of professional excitement while his multicolor bob along to some catchy tune no one else can hear. If you want to get a little silly, there’s fast parrot and if you want to get even sillier, there’s ultra fast parrot, exceptionally fast parrot, and the fastest parrot.
There are parrots to celebrate birthdays and parrots to convey sleepiness. Aussie parrot is upside down and spinning parrot, well, spins. There are parrots that can do the wave. Parrots that can check their laptop, and parrots that can drink wine, or beer, or coffee, or boba.
Party Party is versatile. Party Parrot is entertaining. Party Parrot is perfect.
Some party parrots also, probably, are ill-suited to use in a serious context, just like how certain phrases are unsuitable to use during professional meetings.
Up front, I am a huge emoji advocate. I am a frequenter of Emojipedia, for both my personal use and for uses in a work context. If it was up to me, I’d still use emoticons in every day texting vernacular. I mean, look, they’re so cute: (ꈍᴗꈍ)♡ •⩊• ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ How can that not make you feel happy?
Just like a picture shows a thousand words, an emoji sends a thousand Slack messages.
Take “Thank you” for example. It’s a very common response to a lot of everyday tasks. But if I’m sending someone a “thank you” between every one of our communications, I am also sending them an additional notification that could interrupt their workflow or distract them from more pressing matters. Whereas if I react with the “TY!” emoji, now I have both thanked them for their help and saved them from an intrusive briiiing.
This changes between messaging systems. Microsoft Teams is unfortunately very annoying about emoji reactions. Outlook, on the other hand, very subtly displays its emojis in a way that makes 👍 and ❤️ convenient to convey thanks and appreciation without giving someone a new email to read. And of course, Slack still displays that someone has reacted to your message in the “Activity” bar.
I believe it makes me distinctly Gen Z in that I never quite gave emojis up, even after they became a little bit cheugy.1 (Think social media reality TV show The Circle where contestants dictate to their messaging system, “Circle, send fire emoji, laughing emoji, heart emoji, sparkle emoji, crying emoji.”)
Of course, the appropriate tone for an email is much different than the tone for a instant message which is different from the tone you would use in real life.
I think on Teams, or Slack, or any other instant messaging system you use, the way you type is going to begin to resemble the way you speak, even if you’re attempting to keep your work presence professional. To be honest, it’s weirder if a message doesn’t sound like you, especially with the popularity of AI nowadays.
Reactions can get a little dicey when you’re in communication with people from outside your company, and they maybe don’t understand your sense of humor or your personality. That, and the possibility for passive aggression exists.
But I don’t think emojis are inherently inappropriate to use at work. I have never been chastised for my emoji use, though it’s possible someone finds it annoying and is just too nice to tell me. I can reference the Slack workspaces I use on an everyday basis and immediately see thank yous, ✔️, ⬆️, and 👍 in reaction to updates.
Sometimes all it takes it one emoji to set a dogpile into motion. Just like making a joke around the watercooler, emojis are a quick little way to bring some fun into your day, and maybe even make someone smile.
Just like a verbal slip-up, emojis have the potential to miscommunicate or over-communicate our tone. Yes, there are some emojis you should probably never use at work and some contexts you should probably not send 👍😄 or the opposite, 👎😠
I hate this project 👍😄
That was really good work 👎😠
(Context. Context is key.)
Emojis are simply another way to communicate, one that is more helpful than hurtful, in my opinion. Emoji reactions save time and energy, and with a digital divide separating employees between cities, states, and countries, isn’t it helpful to have a little something extra that can help convey tone, and even project completion status?
Read my last story: Should we all get back on Tumblr?
On a side-note, I see a few more of you have subscribed while I have been inactive! I wanted to say welcome, and I hope you’re enjoying whatever one of my posts showed up on your Substack algorithm. I also wanted to let you know that as much as I would love to return to posting as consistently as I used to, I’ve decided to take a step back from weekly editions of Gen Z Translator to focus on my personal and professional writing endeavors instead.
My goal is still to make it to 500 subscribers by the two-year anniversary of my publication in September though, and I’m getting super close! If you want to help, please consider sharing this newsletter with a friend 🙏😉❤️🥹 And leave your favorite emoji to use at work down in the comments for me 😈
My weekly roundup:
🎶 What I’m Listening To: “No Place Like Home” by Badflower
🎞️ What I’m Watching: Succession rewatch!! Incredible, amazing show. Shows you everything you need to know about tone.
🔎 What I’m Reading: “Two Twisted Crowns” by Rachel Gillig
📱 What I’m Scrolling: I think it’s neat that the New York Times has an Instagram account specifically for “subscribers, readers and lovers” of their publication
⚠️ What’s On My Radar: Instagram’s new locational tracking feature? Big yikes. Here’s how to mind your digital privacy.
Read the full Gen Z Dictionary here.
Cheugy: According to Merriam Webster, “a slang way of calling someone or something uncool or unfashionable”