• Visual messages are often interpreted as a signal of desire for social proximity.
• In fact, courts have found emoji’s particularly relevant when analyzing the “severe or pervasive” prong of harassment claims.
With more than 2,000 emojis to choose from before you send a message, one thing for sure is that you should avoid using them in a work or business environment.
Courts have found emoji’s particularly relevant when analyzing the “severe or pervasive” prong of harassment claims.
The study, led by Tel Aviv University and published in the Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes found that employees and employers who use pictures and emojis in their emails or Zoom profiles, or even company pictorial logos on t-shirts, are perceived as less powerful than those who use words.
"Today we are all accustomed to communicating with pictures and the social networks make it both easy and fun,” they said.
“Our findings, however, raise a red flag: in some situations, especially in a work or business environment. This practice may be costly because it signals low power.”
In the study, participants examined the responses of other participants to verbal vs pictorial messages in different contexts.
The results were clear-cut. In all experiments, the respondents attributed more power to the person who chose a verbal vs. a visual representation of the message.
They advised thinking twice before sending pictorials and emojis to people with who you work in the same organisation or in a context you want to be perceived as powerful.
Human resource professionals observe anecdotally that emojis and other digital communications in the workplace can impact relationships, leading to morale issues and prompt internal complaints, even if those complaints never reach a courthouse.
“Since employees of all ages may have different views on the use of emojis, it's best to use them at your discretion,” HR consultant Grace Bosibori told the Star on Tuesday.
“But when it comes to analysing sexual harassment cases, the use of emoji in a text message has to be out of context. Others may think the use of a wink is flirty while others it signifies a friendly or light-hearted comment.”
Image: MARGARET WANJIRU
Part of what makes emoji’s so prone to misunderstanding is that we are in a digital world and different emojis might be perceived differently.
“The last thing we want is people to feel uncomfortable. An emoji sent by a workmate in all innocence may be perceived the wrong way, so you’d rather avoid using them at all. Keep it professional,” Bosibori advised.
A peach is not just fruit, eggplant is not only a vegetable, an octopus may be a request for a virtual hug, a water splash is not only that and a devil emoji may signify a desire to engage in sexual activity.
“What is important to note when it comes to choosing emojis is do you really know the meaning and who you are sending them to?” she poised.
The study was conducted by Dr Elinor Amit and Prof. Shai Danziger from Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University.
"Why do pictures signal that a sender is low power? Research shows that visual messages are often interpreted as a signal of desire for social proximity. A separate body of research shows that less powerful people desire social proximity more than powerful people do," Amit said.
"Consequently, signalling that you'd like social proximity by using pictures is essentially signalling you're less powerful.”